Juneteenth

Celebrate our freedom during Juneteenth Weekend
Commemorating the end of African slavery in the United States, Juneteenth has become into a national weekend holiday of sorts. Our LGBT community has already begun celebrating, so here’s what you can catch this Friday through Sunday.
On Friday, do the fish fry thing with drink specials at Joe’s, 4117 Maple, for the “Welcome to Dallas Juneteenth Celebration”. On Saturday, there’s free grub and fun under the sun during the annual Legacy Of Success Foundation's “Juneteenth Celebration Picnic” at Tennyson Park at the corner of Tennyson Pkwy and Clermont from 11am to 4pm.
Can’t make it to the picnic, but open for a pool party? Come to the poolside at the Marriot Suites, 2493 N. Stemmons Frwy from 5pm to 8pm for the “212 Degrees: The Boiling Point Juneteenth Pool Party”. The party will be hosted by none other than DeMarco Majors from LOGO’s Shirts and Skin TV Series....
Dallas
Juneteenth Blues and Jazz Festival starts at 6 p.m. today at the African American Museum of Dallas, 3536 Grand Ave. in Fair Park. Museum admission costs $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. 214-565-9026.

Juneteenth Film Screening, hosted by the South Dallas Cultural Center, will show the film Wattstax at 8 p.m. today. Admission is $5. Jammin' at the Center, which is free, follows from midnight to 3 a.m. Saturday. The center will present a free benefit concert for its summer arts program at 6 p.m. Saturday; donations requested. All events are at the center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave. 214-939-2787....



For Dallas-area family, Juneteenth signifies struggle for equality
CARROLLTON – Willie Rainwater will be busy Saturday commemorating his family's fight for equality here, as well as the broader civil rights struggle of the nation.
Officially, it's a Juneteenth celebration – the Texas commemoration of the end of slavery. It dates to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed in Galveston with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free throughout the nation. More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, an estimated 250,000 slaves in Texas heard of their liberty.

Today and throughout the weekend, Juneteenth celebrations are occurring throughout the Dallas area, in Texas and in many parts of the United States. But the day holds multiple meanings for Rainwater in Carrollton.

"In my city, it is hard to find black history," says Rainwater, 66. "It's like black people never lived here."

Make that officially recognized black history, because the Rainwater family has been peeling back the historical onion layer by layer for some time.

As Rainwater says, "At one time, there were more black people here than there were white people."

The Carrollton Community Cemetery, better known as the Carrollton black cemetery, is an example of that. It is believed to date to the 1870s, so some buried there could be freed slaves. That's why for Juneteenth today, there will be a cemetery cleanup at 8 a.m., moving to an official celebration of Juneteenth and on to a barbecue by 11 a.m. at the cemetery, 1615 W. Belt Line Road....


Go & do: Juneteenth events
Richardson
"It's a Family Affair" Juneteenth celebration, hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas, will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the UT Dallas Gazebo. The event will include a bake-off, free food while it lasts, educational information and music. 972-883-6390.

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