Community prepares for weekend Juneteenth events

While residents of the city of Amarillo, as well as the Texas Panhandle region, are going to have the chance to celebrate Juneteenth in two different ways throughout the day Saturday, both events will center around Friday’s holiday, which celebrates the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The holiday commemorates the date of June 19, 1865, where Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed residents of Galveston that President Abraham Lincoln had freed the slaves two and a half years earlier through the signing of the proclamation.

101 Elite Men, an area organization of African-American men whose aim is to promote brotherhood in the Amarillo community, will host a Juneteenth parade and celebration beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

According to a news release, participants in the parade will line up at the intersection of NW 9th St. and N. Hayden St., near the Black Historical Culture Center. The parade will end at Bones Hooks Park for a lunch and celebration program. The event’s festivities will end in the evening at the park where The Walls Group, a gospel music act, will perform a free concert at 7 p.m.

Chris Brackens and other members of the community are also hosting, what Brackens calls “Hamlet’s first Juneteenth event” at 11 a.m. at Hamlet Park, located at the intersection of Oak Drive and Almond Avenue, giving families the opportunity to have a free meal, which have been donated, and be together as a community.

Tarenzo Clemmons, a member of the 101 Elite Men group, said Juneteenth signifies an important moment in history. With the recent death of George Floyd, he believes people have been more willing to come together.

“I think when people grab a hold of really what Juneteenth is, they come into the realization that it’s not only important to the Black culture to celebrate it,” he said. “But it’s important for everyone else to celebrate it with us to show that we understand, not sympathize and all that, but we understand your plight.”

Brackens, the organizer of the Juneteenth event at Hamlet, said his event is centered around teaching children about the real meaning of Juneteenth. But Brackens also wants it to be fun.

“We are going to celebrate these kids,” he said. “We are going to talk to the kids. I hope everyone comes out. It’s (open) to all communities. It’s not just for Hamlet, it just so happens to be at Hamlet.”

Curtis Johnson, the founder of 101 Elite Men, said Juneteenth as a whole is more relevant right now to society, because of the recent events. This gives the organization the platform to give members of the community information and shine a light about the importance of events like this.

Clemmons said that is why it is important for individuals to come and be exposed to the message of Juneteenth. It is about planting seeds of influence.

“Everybody has their own sphere of influence,” he said. “If everyone has their own sphere of influence… it’s important for everyone who believes in what we are doing and why we are doing it, it’s important for them to come in because they come in and get the information and then they can go out and spread that information in their sphere of influence.”

Keith Grays, one of the organizers of the Juneteenth parade and celebration that 101 Elite Men is hosting, said this a way to help introduce members of the community to the holiday and let them know a celebration like this occurs annually in Amarillo. He also wants members of the community to know about the 101 Elite Men organization and the work they do in the community.

“This is the celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, whereas there has not been a major outpouring of people into our community to help us celebrate June 19, which is our Cinco De Mayo. It is our July 4th,” Grays said.

“We bring not only the Juneteenth celebration, but we bring the narrative of why Juneteenth is the avenue and the platform to inform an entire city. We want those same people to come back and walk in the parade for Emancipation Proclamation and the celebration that has historically been a part of this community.”