Monday, June 23, 2008

Juneteenth Celebration in Mpls. MN


This weekend, I attended our Juneteenth celebration at Theodore Worth Park. For those that don't know, Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery and dates back to 1865.

We arrived early enough to see the parade, which I had never done before. We watched the college Fraternities do their steps and B96, a local, radio station, rode by in their trick out 57 Chevy. Who could forget the Wells Fargo coach and it's beautiful Clydesdales as it passed.

It was great seeing old friends and family that you haven't seen in a while. One of my favorite places to stop was for Taquitos. I was a little disappointed to learn that they changed the recipe. I also enjoyed the soulful sounds of gospel music echoing through the crowds as we left. All in all it was a great day, for me.

Unfortunately the festival ended early as the result of 3 people getting shot. Apparently, a fight broke out and one of them started chasing the other shooting through the crowd. I can't help but to ask, "Are we really free?". A reporter asked a vendor about the violence. He replied,"It's sad, but we will be back next year!".
How was your Juneteenth celebration? Did it go off without a hitch, or did it suffer violence as ours did? I would love to know your thoughts on this. Feel free to leave a comment.

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