Hundreds of North Texans gather in South Dallas to celebrate Juneteenth

Yezi Williams, a member of the Pan-African Drum Ensemble, was proud to have the opportunity to share her artistry along with other members of the group at the Dallas Juneteenth Festival, held Sunday in South Dallas.

For Williams and others in the ensemble, their music and dancing is a way to share their light and love.

“We don’t just do it for ourselves,” Williams said. “This is ancestral, so what we’re doing today is not just us, it’s everybody in our community.”

Hundreds of people braved the Texas heat on Sunday to enjoy live music, eat food from local vendors and celebrate Black history and culture at the festival.

This was the second year that Juneteenth was celebrated as a federally recognized holiday. The holiday commemorates the date that Union soldiers on June 19, 1865, arrived in Galveston to declare the end of slavery, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Opal Lee of Fort Worth, the activist who spearheaded the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, led a 2.5-mile march alongside hundreds of supporters. From September 2016 to January 2017, Lee walked more than 1,400 miles from Fort Worth to Washington D.C. in an effort to push federal lawmakers to recognize the holiday.

Sunday’s event in Dallas featured live performances, activities for children and 100 vendors from across North Texas, including many local Black-owned businesses. Organizers also announced the recipients of this year’s Dallas Juneteenth Scholarship.

Clara Igwala-Anumege, an event producer for Elite Experience Events — the organizer of this year’s festival, said the scholarship program has grown over the years. In 2021, the organization awarded two $500 scholarships. This year, the program will help two high school or college students with $1,000 scholarships.

The organization plans to award 10 scholarships next year and to expand the pool of applicants, Igwala-Anumege said.

“The idea is to give students a chance to learn about the Juneteenth holiday and the people who were behind it, and the whole abolition movement,” Igwala-Anumege said. “It’s cool to wear the colors and everything like that, but it is important to know the history behind it.”

To be considered for the scholarship, applicants were required to create a display highlighting the work of a Black American historical figure or event.

Reya Machen, a marketing student at Louisiana State University, was one of 25 finalists for the scholarship. The Cedar Hill native’s display was about the work of W. E. B. Du Bois.

Machen said she was grateful to have an opportunity to study and showcase the work of someone who had an impact on the Black community.

She said she was heartened to see people celebrating the national holiday.

“It’s really nice to see the different parts of the diaspora come together to celebrate,” she said.

Anastasia Thompson of Irving, one of the vendors at the event, said she was honored to be part of the festival, and for the chance to showcase her business, Southern Comfort Meals.

“To have the holiday highlighted nationally is really good, and the fact that I can be a part of it is even better,” Thompson said.

Cedar Hill resident Sherry Walton said this was her first time attending the Juneteenth festival. Although she had celebrated Juneteenth with family members in previous years, Walton said she was happy to be able to celebrate the holiday with other members of the community.

“We finally get a day that recognizes us,” she said. “I also like it because I can come out here, eat some soul food and look at the different vendors to celebrate us.”