The streets of Greenwood were filled on Saturday as people from across the state and country gathered for Tulsa’s Juneteenth Festival. The annual holiday commemorates the date — June 19, 1865 — when soldiers arrived in Texas to free enslaved people two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Terry Baccus told The Eagle on Saturday that he grew up celebrating emancipation in Tulsa.
“I remember when it was the Jubilee (Festival) — when there wasn’t no corporate sponsors,” he said. Other Emancipation Day celebrations in the country go by names like Freedom Day, Black Independence Day and Jubilee Day.
It became a federal holiday in 2021 under President Joe Biden.
Baccus said even though it’s relatively new in mainstream America compared to other holidays, he thinks most people understand the historical significance behind Juneteenth.
“As you get older, you understand it better,” he said. “You might learn a few more things you didn’t know about it. But overall, people understand the fact that it took them two years to get out there to Galveston.”
More than anything, Baccus said the day was about people of all ages coming together with friends and family for a good time.
Saturday’s events started with a morning 5K and 1-mile race as well as a wellness expo. Around 1 p.m., crowds started to trickle in — setting up lawn chairs, line dancing and perusing vendor tables.
It looked different this year, with heightened security measures and a condensed schedule. Instead of dampening the spirit of the event, the new security measures helped some feel more comfortable, said Kimberly Grimes, a Tulsa native and festival vendor.
“I love that Tulsa has changed it up a little bit to keep everyone safe so we can focus on the beauty of Juneteenth,” Grimes said. “To be able to have a calm environment, to be able to soak it all in, that’s what it’s all about.”
In the weeks leading up to the festival, Tulsa Juneteenth Inc. executive director Lauren Corbitt-Evans said at least 6,500 people registered to attend.
Deborah McDonald and her mother, DeLois Paley, visited from Oklahoma City. But their roots go back to Texas, just like the origins of Juneteenth.
“In Houston, we celebrated for a good week with jazz bands and rock and roll and everything at Herman Park and McGregor Park. It was a big celebration,” McDonald told The Eagle.
Although some believe Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday might dilute the meaning behind the commemorations, McDonald doesn’t.
“I don’t think it’s watered down. I think it’s growing. And it’s not just for people in Texas, it’s (for) a combination of Black people in all states … that we were free,” she said.
Wearing matching Juneteenth shirts, Nina and John Wilson traveled from Wichita Falls, Texas to celebrate. They took time to learn more about the history of Greenwood’s Black Wall Street while they were here.
It is imperative, Nina said, that Americans do not allow these moments in history to be forgotten or erased.
“If you really are saying that American history is Black history, it’s important that no matter what region you’re in, these are things that are in every history book, in every museum, and promoted for everyone to be able to see,” she said.
