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‘Our future is bright' Grayslake's Juneteenth A Celebration of Freedom Walk 2025
More than 200 people took part in this year's annual Juneteenth A Celebration of Freedom Walk on June 19 in Grayslake.
Thursday's weather for the walk, which began shortly after 5 p.m., was mostly sunny with breezy temperatures in the 80 degree range.
Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, acknowledges the end of slavery in the United States and is observed every year on June 19. Celebrations for June 19 often fall on or near the date. Juneteenth is a federal holiday.
The Grayslake walk, in collaboration with community partners, was launched in 2021 by Tamika Y. Nash of Grayslake, secretary of the Board of Education of Community Consolidated School District 46, and also Juneteenth event coordinator.
Nash said the Grayslake Juneteenth event began as a, 'personal 5K walk with me and my children, inspired by Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday.
'It took over two years (June 19, 1865) for the last enslaved Africans to learn of their freedom via the Emancipation Proclamation that was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863.
'The walk symbolizes the long journey to freedom for the Africans of Galveston, Texas,' Nash added.
The Grayslake Juneteenth event benefited from grassroots word-of-mouth publicity and expanded from three participants in 2021 to 150 in 2024, Nash indicated.
'Juneteenth is considered a community event because it embodies collective celebration, cultural pride and a commitment to justice and unity,' Nash said.
'Our celebration brings our diverse community together to reflect on history and honor resilience of our nation, and specifically the freedom journey of Africans in America,' Nash added.
People assembled outside of the front of the Grayslake Area Public Library and followed a guided path with educational stations staffed by volunteers. Parked at the library was also the Mobile Museum of Tolerance bus.
Recently elected Grayslake Mayor Elizabeth Davies greeted participants at the library with welcoming remarks.
'We want everybody to feel valued and that's what this event really does,' said Davies, who added about Grayslake that, 'It's a pillar of what we want to be.'
The Juneteenth walk took participants through Central Park to the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum for the opportunity to add their handprints to a community art project created in the outside front courtyard. Inside, activities featured a pop-up Juneteenth display plus performance dance art.
Katie Brethorst-Stockwell of Waukegan, deputy director of the Grayslake Heritage Center, said, 'It's been really fun.'
The traditional song 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' was included in the program. The keynote speaker at the Heritage Center was newly re-elected Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham.
Cunningham said, 'In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, yet it took until June 19, 1865, two and a half years later, for Union troops to arrive in Galveston, Texas, to announce to the last enslaved Africans in America that they were free.
'Consider that deeply, freedom delayed, justice postponed,' Cunningham said. 'Yet, through it all, they hoped, they believed, and they endured.
'Let us recognize that Juneteenth signifies it is not just about a one-time event of freedom,' Cunningham said. 'It represents an ongoing struggle, a collective journey.
'I think our future is bright,' the Waukegan mayor also said.
Lynn Glickman, superintendent of schools for (CCSD 46) Community Consolidated School District 46, was among volunteers staffing stops along the path.
Glickman held signage with a question for attendees that posed, 'How was the original Juneteenth celebrated?'
The answer was, 'People began celebrating with huge feasts and dancing. They prayed and sang spiritual music. The first official Juneteenth celebration took place exactly one year later. It was June 19, 1866.'
Glickman said dozens of languages are spoken in Grayslake's school district as a measure of its diversity.
'We are so proud of the inclusivity of our school district and our community,' Glickman said. 'This is a place where everybody can thrive.
'Anytime we can bring our community together, and think through the topics that are important to our community, and should be important to a community, it's a good day,' Glickman added.
Diane Summers of Gurnee, president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Lambda Nu Omega chapter (chapter chartered in Waukegan on May 27, 1977), helped to staff a water station.
In 2014, chapter members established a foundation called the (LCP) Lake County P.E.A.R.L.S., Inc., which instills empowerment, leadership and service.
Summers wore a t-shirt that read, 'Vote. Enough Said,' with an 'O' letter drawn in pearls.
'When you think about the purpose of this (Juneteenth) day, there were a lot of people who didn't have freedom, basic freedom, let alone the ability to vote,' Summers said. 'We need to exercise that.'
Ashley Bonnes of Grayslake arrived on a bicycle with daughter Ella, 2, who traveled in a child's bike seat. Son Wyatt, 7, a rising second-grader, also rode a bike.
Ashley Bonnes said about Grayslake as a welcoming community, 'I think we do a pretty good job.'
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