Spring Break
Third-annual Juneteenth celebration 'a success'
Zach Wingerter
Issue date: 6/23/05 Section: News
"When we all come together as a body, 59 senators sitting on the floor in the Illinois Senate at the capitol, when we come together as a body and we put our minds and our hearts and our souls together to try to correct something that's not right in the state, we can make huge accomplishments, great gains, huge strides and it's just a matter of bringing people together and that's what this event has done today."
Western senior English major Gregory Pickett came up next to perform two original spoken-word pieces, which he explains as poetry not meant to be read, but rather performed. Before he started his second piece, "The Work Song," Pickett told the audience to appreciate the slaves' work songs because those are the roots of modern-day jazz and blues.
Essie Rutledge, professor of sociology, then delivered the final speech of the night.
The Macomb community was very helpful in making Juneteenth a success. "About 95 percent of the food and beverages were donated by merchants in Macomb," Carr said. People showed up at the park to help because they saw advertisements asking for volunteers in local newspapers, she added.
Many community volunteer organizations had tables set up in the park. Ardith Thorpe had an African-American crafts table set up for the third consecutive year and said this year was even better than the past two. Thorpe helped children make bookmarks, crosses and necklaces.
"(Juneteenth) promotes unity for all races and nationalities to come together in an environment that is both educational and fun," Carr said. In the future, Carr would like to tap into the educational section a bit further.
"We'd like to involve the community more," Carr said. "We'd like to go into the school district in May and have a literary contest and have prizes for students who write about Juneteenth and why it's important."
Western senior English major Gregory Pickett came up next to perform two original spoken-word pieces, which he explains as poetry not meant to be read, but rather performed. Before he started his second piece, "The Work Song," Pickett told the audience to appreciate the slaves' work songs because those are the roots of modern-day jazz and blues.
Essie Rutledge, professor of sociology, then delivered the final speech of the night.
The Macomb community was very helpful in making Juneteenth a success. "About 95 percent of the food and beverages were donated by merchants in Macomb," Carr said. People showed up at the park to help because they saw advertisements asking for volunteers in local newspapers, she added.
Many community volunteer organizations had tables set up in the park. Ardith Thorpe had an African-American crafts table set up for the third consecutive year and said this year was even better than the past two. Thorpe helped children make bookmarks, crosses and necklaces.
"(Juneteenth) promotes unity for all races and nationalities to come together in an environment that is both educational and fun," Carr said. In the future, Carr would like to tap into the educational section a bit further.
"We'd like to involve the community more," Carr said. "We'd like to go into the school district in May and have a literary contest and have prizes for students who write about Juneteenth and why it's important."
