Evanston Hosts 4th Annual Juneteenth Parade, Celebrations At Ingraham Park

EVANSTON, IL — The Evanston community is set to celebrate the emancipation of enslaved Black people Saturday with a parade and celebration to mark Juneteenth.

The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main St. and heads to Ingraham Park, behind the Morton Civic Center at 2100 Ridge Ave.

The parade route heads west on Main Street to Dodge Avenue, where it turns right and heads north to Simpson Street. It then turns right on Simpson Street and heads east before turning left on Asbury Avenue before arriving outside the civic center.

Along the way, the South Shore Drill Team and the Jessie White Tumblers are scheduled to perform. The parade will also feature floats, walking groups, marching bands and cars, according to organizers.

"The parade will provide an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate the progress that has been made since Juneteenth, but also recognize the work that still needs to be done to achieve true equality while bringing more awareness by parading in the streets," according to organizers.

An afternoon of art, food, music and spoken word performances in the park follows the parade. There will be more than two dozen artisan vendors, as well as food from Hecky's BBQ, C&W Ice Cream and Firehouse Pizza.

Family-friendly activities planned for Ingraham Park include a sweet potato pie baking contest, a bid whist tournament, a free raffle, face painting and a playground for kids.

Music begins at 1 p.m. with Funkadesi, followed by "1619: The Journey of a People, A Musical" at 2:30 p.m., Gospel Singing Group MC4 at 4 p.m. and the Donovan Mixon Jazz Ensemble at 5 p.m.

Hoodraised and Darlin' Mikki, two spoken word performers, are also scheduled to take the stage during the event.

The Juneteenth federal holiday, also known as "Freedom Day" or "Emancipation Day," commemorates the day 157 years ago when U.S. Maj. Gen. Charles Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the late former President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation nearly two and a half years earlier.

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free," Granger declared, reading from "General Order No. 3" on June 19, 1865. "This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves.”

In 2021, Juneteenth became a paid holiday in Illinois and a federal holiday nationwide, although the state law only allows for a paid holiday when June 19 is on a weekday. That means 2023 is the first year state workers in Illinois will have a day off for Juneteenth.

Evanston's first annual Juneteenth parade took place in June 2020 amid the early waves of the coronavirus pandemic in Illinois.

Evanston Present and Future, the nonprofit that organized this year's parade in partnership with the city, held a "virtual" parade on the Juneteenth holiday and a car parade the following week. The online video livestream reportedly attracted more than 3,000 views and more than 100 cars took part in the car parade.

Read more:

• What Is Juneteenth? 5 Things To Know About The Holiday That Marks The End Of Slavery
• Juneteenth Officially A State Holiday In Illinois
• Skokie To Officially Observe Juneteenth As Holiday For The First Time