The Illinois town of Plano made history in its celebration of Juneteenth, but now the party's getting moved to Yorkville
What Jamal Williams remembers from Plano's Juneteenth celebration three years ago isn't just its record attendance — the organizer and former alderman said about 1,100 people showed up. Between the live band and fireworks, he was proud that residents of all races and political affiliations celebrated together.
'It was overwhelming. There was no negativity there,' he said. 'The police were getting along with people. People were parking, people were grilling, kids were jumping around.'
Plano, a town near Aurora in Kendall County that's home to about 12,000, made history in February 2021 when it became the first municipality in Illinois to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday, officials there say. It has held annual celebrations ever since, until this year.
Due to dwindling attendance and derogatory comments on social media, this year's festivities were initially canceled, Williams said. But some residents wanted the show to go on. So organizers decided to move the Thursday event to a church in Yorkville, just a few miles away.
'People in other towns said we can't let them win,' Williams said.
The Juneteenth holiday marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, found out they had been freed — after the Civil War's end and two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Texas was the first state to recognize it as a holiday in 1980. President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday in 2021, and that year Gov. JB Pritzker also signed legislation making it an official state holiday.
This year will be the first Juneteenth under President Donald Trump's second administration, which has banned diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, in the federal government. This has included removing Black American history content from federal websites. Trump officials have also discouraged some federal agencies from recognizing other racial heritage celebrations.
Celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support. Still, there's a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events planned throughout the week leading into the Juneteenth holiday. This push and pull has played out in Plano.
Williams, who stepped away from the City Council last month after eight years, said he championed the holiday designation because he wanted to bring the community together. In the aftermath of George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer, he felt like racism divided the town, which is also known as a filming location for the Superman movie 'Man of Steel.' Williams thought the holiday would also be a good opportunity for education on African American history.
'I thought it would be good to let a small town outside of Chicago be able to come together,' he said. 'One of the big things I wanted to push was it's not just an African American holiday. It wasn't a political motivator, whether it be Democratic or Republican, it was simply to move a culture forward as it relates to education.'
Plano's City Council voted to make Juneteenth a city holiday in February 2021, according to Mayor Mike Rennels, who said the city believes it was the first municipality in the state to have done so. He said the city's Juneteenth festivities were private, not city-sponsored, but that many city employees had volunteered at the annual event.
The summer celebrations, held at a local middle school, steadily grew. There were a variety of attractions, from fireworks to comedians to a walk to honor Opal Lee, a retired teacher who advocated to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. The first year about 600 people attended. At its peak in 2022, there were more than 1,000, which Williams said is 'huge for our area.'
Tafarra Thomas, 60, of Plano, said she has been attending the Juneteenth event since it began. In the past, she had donated to the event, she said, and let the organizers store items for the celebration at her house.
'That was awesome to have it right here in the community, where … a lot of the community can walk with their children,' said Thomas, who is Black.
Attendance started to dwindle, though, with only about 500 people in 2024. Williams attributes the decline mainly to scheduling issues or that the event lasted too long. However, some of it could be due to community backlash, he said.
People commented on social media that they're 'trying to replace the Fourth of July' or 'push the Democratic ticket,' Williams said. Others told sponsors that they would boycott their business, he added.
'It just got to be too much, so we decided to go ahead and cancel it,' Williams said. 'There was a lot of uncomfortability with that. People thought we let them win. But I just thought at that point that I wanted to protect those who had a lot more to lose.'
A few community members then stepped up to make the event happen in some form, Williams said. It's now called 'Juneteenth in Kendall County' and will be held at the Yorkville Congregational Church from 4 to 8 p.m. It will be 'smaller scale,' Williams said, but still feature games, music, food and vendors.
The Rev. Elizabeth Hartung, the pastor at the Yorkville church, said their congregation has 'a long history of showing up in our community,' and that involvement with community events like the Juneteenth celebration is in line with her theological beliefs 'to be inclusive and have a wide welcome and work together to create bridges of understanding, create places for people to be together.'
'It is hard to do that today in today's climate,' Hartung said, 'which makes it all the more important.'
For Danielle Tully, a fellow organizer, it's 'bittersweet' that the event is smaller in scope than in years past. Tully said the Juneteenth festivities are 'something special' in that people can get together as a community for good food and good music. She's excited that it's happening at all, but said it will feel different.
'It is going to feel a little bit more temporary,' she said. 'Like where you know you go somewhere for a little bit and then you leave.'
Thomas, the Plano resident, said she doesn't plan to attend the event in Yorkville, saying she was disappointed it had moved away from Plano. Instead, she's hosting her family and friends at her home — a gathering that's set to extend from Thursday all the way through Saturday, she said. They plan to grill, dance, play games and have a water balloon fight.
'Just enjoying one another,' she said.
Williams said the goal, if possible, is to bring the Juneteenth festivities back to Plano next summer.
'We'll do one where God leads and two where there's a need,' Williams said.
The Associated Press contributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
I'm exhausted by attempts to pretend discrimination doesn't exist in America
Mary-Frances Winters defined the term 'Black fatigue' in her book of the same name, describing it as a form of psychological and emotional exhaustion from persistent racism and microaggressions. You know what I'm tired of? The MAGA movement twisting and co-opting language used to help Americans cope with racism and turning it back on them. The latest example is "Black fatigue." In 2020, author Mary-Frances Winters defined the term in her book of the same name, describing it as a form of psychological and emotional exhaustion from persistent racism and microaggressions. This fatigue can impact one's mental and spiritual well-being, and if left unaddressed, it could also affect physical health and shorten life expectancy. Today, the term has been co-opted by the right – and even people unwittingly using it against themselves. For instance, when five girls attack a woman at the opening night of the Milwaukee Night Market, it is labeled "Black fatigue." When some boys drive recklessly in a stolen car, it is also called "Black fatigue." When a 39-year-old man is arrested in the shooting of a Milwaukee police officer, you guessed it. I reached out to Winters, 74, who said she was not surprised to learn the MAGA crowd had co-opted the term. However, she is disheartened that some are using it against their fellow African Americans. Opinion: I remember my first Juneteenth. It's more than a Black holiday. While it's understandable for people to feel frustrated and speak out when they witness something bad happen, it's important to recognize that no single group has a monopoly on bad behavior. The bigger question is why do Black people often find themselves under greater scrutiny? I believe we know the answer to that. Real 'Black fatigue' gives voice to microaggressions, systemic racism This disparity is precisely why Winters coined the term in the first place, capturing the struggles faced by the Black community in a world that is quick to pass judgment. Ironically, the movement co-opting the term is the one inflicting the pain by pretending bigotry doesn't exist by President Donald Trump's attempt to erase diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Opinion: Trump worries more about South Africa's nonexistent genocide than real US racism When Winters' book was released, America was grappling with a global pandemic and confronting systemic racism after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who sparked nationwide protests. When she was writing the book, many expressed to Winters, the founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a 40-year-old global organization development and DEI consulting firm, that they felt exhausted by microaggressions, conveying a sense of pressure to excel at work but thought they were only making minimal progress. Think of it as constantly walking on a new carpet. Over time, you don't realize how the fibers are worn down until you compare before-and-after pictures and see how your repeated steps have diminished the carpet's beauty. That's what racism does. Since Trump took office again, Winters noted that real Black fatigue has intensified due to his rhetoric and policies, which have escalated racial tensions and eroded civil rights protections, further compounding a long history of unacknowledged, unaddressed racism and discrimination. 'He's hurting people. Just think about all the government jobs that have been eliminated," Winters said. "A lot of those employees were Black men and women who now must figure out what they want to do." MAGA uses concept to perpetuate negative, racist stereotypes There are dozens of videos online featuring people discussing the co-opted concept of Black fatigue, and to be honest, it makes me angry. It's not surprising, though, as there are even more videos and websites seemingly dedicated to showcasing the worst behaviors. Sites like and 'Ghetto Fights' often highlight instances of fighting, or just being unkind to each other. Given that our country is so hypersegregated, it's no wonder that people watch these clips and conclude this is representative. And the thing that is so tiring is how the term has been twisted so silently. Dynasty Ceasar, a local community activist who has studied race and racism, was unaware that the definition had changed. She described the issue as 'complex and sensitive,' making it difficult to grasp. 'We need to be mindful of the impact of such statements and avoid language that reinforces negative stereotypes or internalizes racism,' Ceasar said. It's important to clarify that I'm not suggesting that Black people should avoid accountability for their negative actions. What I mean is that everyone, regardless of their race, should be held accountable for their actions but should not be subjected to a different standard than anyone else. It's easy to fall into the trap and use the term incorrectly When I spoke to Winters, I had to be entirely transparent and shared with her that I had inadvertently fallen into the trap. I shared an incident I witnessed while shopping at Plato's Closet, a resale shop in Greenfield. I was about to buy some shoes when I noticed an elderly White woman with her grandson. She was purchasing a pair of sunglasses for him, and I let them skip ahead of me in line because her grandson was very antsy. While we were waiting, a Black woman was selling some shoes and seemed unhappy with what was being offered to her. When the cashier called for the next customer, the older woman accidentally bumped into her, which sparked a verbal altercation. The Black woman began cursing, expressing her frustration about people who bump into her without saying "excuse me." Although the older woman apologized, it only seemed to escalate the situation, as the woman continued to curse and insult her. After both women left the store, several employees asked what had just happened, and I felt compelled to explain the situation. After the incident, I called my cousin and mentioned that I had experienced "Black fatigue" because I felt that the woman's behavior was out of line. My cousin told me that I was misusing the term. Winters and Ceasar both agreed that racism is rarely the result of a single action; it is much more complex than that. While they did not condone the actions of the woman for shouting, Ceasar acknowledged that her outburst might have stemmed from the many times she had been ignored, overlooked as if she did not exist, or made to feel devalued. If Black fatigue can negatively impact on a person's mind, body and spirit, it can also lead to diminished emotional well-being, sometimes manifesting as outbursts to seek acknowledgment. If you find yourself using the term to express disappointment about something bad happening in the world, take a moment to consider how you express that. If your feelings are not specifically related to race, then your fatigue may not be about racial issues at all. It might be about human nature. However, if you believe that only Black people are capable of negative actions and continue to use the term in that context, it might be necessary to reflect on your own biases. That's what I'm tired of. James E. Causey is an Ideas Lab reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where this column originally appeared. Reach him at jcausey@jrnhttps:// or follow him on X: @jecausey
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson should not veto snap curfews
On Wednesday, Chicago's City Council passed by a vote of 27-22 an ordinance authorizing so-called 'snap curfews,' meaning that Chicago police will have the authority to get teenagers off the streets if they sense trouble is brewing. In essence, police Superintendent Larry Snelling would have the power to impose curfews in specific public areas within Chicago where large, unpermitted teen gatherings are beginning, or expected soon to form. The idea is that police officers would be able to tell those already assembled that they have 30 minutes either to go home or take a walk with just a couple of friends elsewhere. Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted the ordinance approved by a clear majority of aldermen and said he planned to issue a rare mayoral veto (the first since 2006, the Richard M. Daley era) in coming days. He should rethink that idea. We're aware of arguments against giving the police this power, especially given our long-standing interest in guarding civil liberties. We've been concerned about a couple of kids being inside a movie theater, for example, only to walk out onto the street without knowing about any curfew and then finding themselves in conflict with the police. We're also of the view that law-abiding teens must be welcomed downtown and that there is nothing illegal in gathering with friends on a warm summer's night, shooting the breeze. That's why we were against making the existing 10 p.m. curfew for Under 17s any earlier, and why we applaud Jahmal Cole, founder and CEO of 'My Block, My Hood, My City,' who is planning to bring over 1,500 teens, primarily from the South and West sides, into the business and cultural districts of downtown Chicago on July 19 for what he calls 'a day of exploration, belonging and new opportunities.' This will be the third year the nonprofit organization also known as M3 will have chaperoned an initiative powered by donors and volunteers; we hear Cole expects to have more participants than ever this year. The plan is both to make these teens feel like they belong downtown, as they should, and also to start to shift some negative perceptions among downtown business owners and workers. We hope everyone has a great time together. But there is often a tradeoff between civil liberties and crime prevention and, where minors are concerned, protection must come first. If it is handled right, this new police power might actually keep kids safer by pre-empting any trouble before it happens. And to think that there is no danger of such trouble when teens gather en masse downtown is to put your head in the sand when it comes to the lessons of recent history, especially as hot summer nights are upon us. Johnson claimed that the ordinance, introduced by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), 'is counterproductive to the progress that we have made in reducing crime and violence in our city.' With all due respect, we don't see the merit of that argument. It should be seen as a tool. And let's remember that incidents of violent crime don't just affect tourists or the business district — they're usually worse for the kids caught up in any melee. No parent or grandparent wants a teen to get stuck around a group of hot-headed peers who might encourage them to do things they later have cause to regret and that impairs the progress of their promising young lives. Such scenarios typically terrify a teenager's loved ones. Perhaps most importantly here, the city's aldermen, many of whom represent the impacted families and know their communities very well, are telling the mayor loud and clear that they want this protection, not just for folks downtown but for the kids themselves. And the vote would suggest that these aldermen of the majority, such as Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), trust Snelling to guard against any problems, which will mean using the ordinance very sparingly, offering as much advance notice as possible and focusing on de-escalation. Snelling already has said in several interviews that he will commit to that. Good. And if no snap curfew is ever needed this summer, all the better. Still, whatever his ideological misgivings or sense of being personally affronted, the mayor would be wise to listen to the City Council and add this ordinance to the police's toolbox for keeping everyone safe. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Markets flatline amid Trump's delay on Iran and potential Fed cuts in July
The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% on Friday as investors waited on President Donald Trump's next move on Iran and a possible rate cut from the Federal Reserve in July. Markets closed off a lackluster week as the major stock indices either slightly dipped or remained flat on Friday. The S&P 500 posted a daily drop of 0.2% and a weekly decline of 1.3%. The Nasdaq dropped 0.5%, and the Dow Jones was essentially flat with a daily gain of 0.1%. The end of the short trading week—U.S. markets were closed on Thursday in observance of Juneteenth—came as the White House said Thursday evening that President Donald Trump would decide within two weeks whether to strike Iran. The commander-in-chief had been weighing military action after Israel, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, began trading missile and drone strikes with the Islamic Republic last Thursday. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump posted on social media on Wednesday, referring to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' A potential U.S. entrance into the conflict between Israel and Iran could heighten tensions in the region and further disrupt oil trade. Oil prices fell on Friday, in a likely sign that traders were relieved that Trump decided to delay conflict with Iran for two weeks. 'That means two weeks of uncertainty for financial markets, but investors are still inclined to see the Middle East conflict as a local, not a global, economic issue,' Paul Donovan, chief economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a Friday analyst note. Meanwhile, Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said Friday that the U.S. central bank may cut interest rates as early as July. 'That would be my view, whether the committee would go along with it or not,' Walker said in an interview with CNBC. On Wednesday, the Fed decided to hold interest rates steady for its fourth meeting in a row. Meanwhile, Trump has pushed for interest rate cuts since he took office in January. 'Uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated,' wrote the Fed in a Wednesday statement. While the central bank struck a cautiously optimistic approach to the U.S. economy, some analysts were more pessimistic. 'The slump in single-family construction is deepening, another headwind to activity and employment,' wrote Samuel Tombs and Oliver Allen, economists for Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a Friday research note. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
