Annual Juneteenth celebration returns to Milwaukee to 'unite the city'

“Our history, our culture, our village” is the theme for the 53^rd annual Juneteenth celebration in Milwaukee.

The city has one of the oldest Juneteenth celebrations in the country, marking the day with a parade each year since 1971. The parade and festival in Milwaukee draw more than 50,000 people every year, celebrating freedom, heritage and community through food, music, art and education.

George Akpan, a volunteer at the Northcott Neighborhood House and one of the event organizers, grew up in the Harambee neighborhood and has attended countless celebrations over the years.

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“We’d like to think that (the theme) captures everything and everyone in this celebration. Being able to acknowledge our history, celebrate our culture uniting our village,” Akpan said.

The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The first Juneteenth celebration took place in Texas on June 19, 1866. President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson says the holiday means a lot to him.

“My affection towards the holiday is extended citywide and growing, especially in the African American community,” Johnson said.

Akpan said over the years he’s seen more people of different ethnicities turning out for the event. He grew up hearing Milwaukee was one of the most segregated cities in the country.

“We’re celebrating freedom. And I believe that in this effort of celebrating, it helps to unite the City of Milwaukee,” Akpan said.

Johnson said the growing diversity at the parade and festival signals to him that the history of Juneteenth and the Black experience is being shared more broadly.

“That’s a good thing, because we should know our history, otherwise, we’d be doomed to repeat it,” Johnson said.

Parade participants include members of the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Brewers and Marquette Men’s Basketball team.

Jahari Hughes, 11, writes on a sidewalk during a Juneteenth event Friday, June 19, 2020, in Milwaukee. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure all enslaved people be freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. *AP Photo/Morry Gash*

‘A day of peace’ after last year’s violence

Six teenagers were shot and wounded after a Juneteenth celebration in Milwaukee last year.

This year the organizers were more intentional about planning. They are engaging more community groups including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee and went into local schools to teach students about Juneteenth.

“We’re promoting it as a day of peace,” Akpen said.

Johnson wasn’t far from the violence last year. He said he has confidence in the Milwaukee Police Department’s ability to keep the event safe.

“Seeing people in the African American community come together in a peaceful, cohesive way, unified. That has always meant a lot to me,” Johnson said.

A spokesperson for MPD told WPR in an email the department is committed to ensuring public safety.

Wausau and Stevens Point hosted their first Juneteenth celebrations in 2021 as a part of a broader social justice movement ignited in the summer of 2020.

“(The festival in Milwaukee) is one of the largest and longest going in the country,” Johnson said. “I hope that other communities across the United States are seeing the same level of engagement not just in the African American community but in our broader community as well.”