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Juneteenth in Kendall County kicks off in Yorkville on Friday · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Juneteenth and Kendall County kicks off in Yorkville on Friday.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Joey Weslow, this article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Previously wounded
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  Speaker 1: twice in battle with the twenty ninth U. S. Colored
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  Speaker 1: Infantry of Illinois, Nathan Hughes, born in Enslavement, was still
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  Speaker 1: on hand to witness Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrender
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  Speaker 1: at Appomattox Courthouse in eighteen sixty five. Passing away in
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  Speaker 1: nineteen ten, Hughes was also able to witness his grandchildren
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  Speaker 1: become the first black students to graduate high school in
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  Speaker 1: Kendall County. The Kendall County of today would likely be
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  Speaker 1: unrecognizable to Hughes, but Jamal Williams, organizer of the annual
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  Speaker 1: Juneteenth in Kendall County event, said educational awareness and an
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  Speaker 1: inspired community is still needed to bridge the divisions that remain.
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  Speaker 1: The sixth annual fest showcases a h host of cultural,
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  Speaker 1: family fun events organizers say are a celebration of love
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  Speaker 1: and education. The event features live music, dancing performances, and
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  Speaker 1: food trucks. The main event is four to eight pm
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  Speaker 1: on June nineteenth at the Congregation United Church of Christ
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  Speaker 1: in Yorkville. Like the educational discussion about Hughes by the
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville Preservation Society, the events are designed to connect the
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  Speaker 1: community with luminaries of the past while shining a path
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  Speaker 1: into the future. The event is free and all members
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  Speaker 1: of the community are welcome to join the festivities. June
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  Speaker 1: teenth is a federal holiday commemorating when news of the
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  Speaker 1: Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery finally reached those still enslaved in
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  Speaker 1: Texas on June nineteenth, eighteen sixty five. Williams said with
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  Speaker 1: each successive Juneteenth festivity they try to broaden out horizons
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  Speaker 1: further into Kendall County. This year features an additional event
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  Speaker 1: in Oswego, and while a planned march in Plano did
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  Speaker 1: not materialize, William's home to build grassroots support for one
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  Speaker 1: heading into next year. We want to bring awareness to
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  Speaker 1: the struggles African Americans went through as it relates to
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  Speaker 1: overcoming slavery, but also in twenty twenty six, we still
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  Speaker 1: see evidence of needing to do more to create a
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  Speaker 1: positive environment for everybody. William said. The festivities show us
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  Speaker 1: coming together as a community. It showcases our talents and
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  Speaker 1: provides an opportunity to share our history. Williams said part
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  Speaker 1: of what makes the event special is bringing people together
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  Speaker 1: of different cultures to help inspire the eradication of the
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  Speaker 1: racism we still experience in every community. After the opening ceremony,
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  Speaker 1: there will performances by girls like Us, the Yorkville Step Team,
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  Speaker 1: and the forty plus Double Dutch Club. Children's activities include
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  Speaker 1: face painting and a bounce house. There is also resource
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  Speaker 1: tables of local nonprofits and educational discussions by community leaders,
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  Speaker 1: including the Yorkville Public Library. The night culminates with line
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  Speaker 1: dancing hosted by lines en Motion featuring Belinda Head. The
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  Speaker 1: Juneteenth Celebration was hosted for its first four years in
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  Speaker 1: Plano before finding a new home in Yorkville after the
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  Speaker 1: City of Plano abruptly canceled the planned Juneteenth Celebration in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five after some alleged community pushback. Williams is
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  Speaker 1: a former Plano alderman. He previously said each event is
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  Speaker 1: about planting positive seeds across the county. The only way
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  Speaker 1: we can move forward as a group is that under
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  Speaker 1: the past. Williams previously said, if you can understand racism
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  Speaker 1: came from, you can better observe it and overcome it.
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  Speaker 1: Trying to acknowledge it never happened, or just pointing the
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  Speaker 1: finger only keeps us fighting back and forth. Also scheduled
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  Speaker 1: during the events is a financial literacy workshop with financial
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  Speaker 1: speaker Tish Griffin from two four pm. The free workshop
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  Speaker 1: is hosted by the Economic Empowerment Committee at the Yorkville
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  Speaker 1: Congregation United Church of Christ. On June twentieth, the Planning
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  Speaker 1: Committee is hosting a swing golf outing from three to
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  Speaker 1: six pm at Whitetail Ridge Golf Dome in Oswego. During
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  Speaker 1: the event, guests can network with other community members. During
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  Speaker 1: the Civil War, one two hundred and fifty one Kendall
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  Speaker 1: County soldiers fought for the Union. One in ten county
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  Speaker 1: residents served, with two hundred and forty seven men dying
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  Speaker 1: during their service. The Kendall County Record newspaper was founded
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  Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty four by John Redmond Marshall, who served
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  Speaker 1: the Union for two years, including at the Battle of Antietam.
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  Speaker 1: Anti slavery roots ran deep in the community, with abolitionist
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  Speaker 1: sermons being held at Yorkville's Chapel on the Green, which
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  Speaker 1: was also part of the Underground Railroad. Building momentum for
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  Speaker 1: next year's Plano March, William said the group is trying
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  Speaker 1: to build momentum for enough people to join next year's
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  Speaker 1: Opal Leaf Freedom March from Plano City Hall to the
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  Speaker 1: Blue Line Kitchen and Bar in Plano. The two point
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  Speaker 1: five mile walk signifies the two points five years it
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  Speaker 1: took for enslaved African Americans in Texas to hear of
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  Speaker 1: their emancipation after President Abraham Lincoln's speech. The tradition was
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  Speaker 1: founded by civil rights activist Opal Lee, known as the
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  Speaker 1: Grandmother of Juneteenth, who campaigned for decades to make it
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  Speaker 1: a federally recognized holiday. Lee marched two point five miles
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  Speaker 1: in cities all across the nation before President Joe Biden
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  Speaker 1: signed Juneteenth into law as an official holiday in twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty one. William said holding a march in Planosa, the
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  Speaker 1: city where the festival was canceled in twenty twenty five,
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  Speaker 1: is crucial to continue Lee's legacy by demonstrating to the
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  Speaker 1: entire county the strength of each individual and how you
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  Speaker 1: can make positive changes in the world.