Sixth annual Juneteenth celebration to be held Saturday in Topeka

When Norma Avery started a Juneteenth celebration in 2014 in Topeka, she wasn't sure how long it would last.

But last it has, and on Saturday, June 15, the sixth annual Topeka Family and Friends Juneteenth Celebration will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at Hillcrest Community Center and Park, 1800 S.E. 21st.

"It's steadily built," said Avery, who is president of the Topeka Family and Friends Juneteenth committee. "I was hoping it would catch on. It's beginning to catch on a lot more now."

As usual, the celebration will have a variety of activities including games, swimming at the Hillcrest pool, pony rides, face-painting, a stereo speaker contest, musical entertainment and presentations on the history of Juneteenth.

Everything will be free except for food items that will be available for purchase, Avery said.

Among highlights at the event:

• Sherri Camp, genealogy librarian from the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, will speak on the history of Juneteenth.

• Deneysha Richard, morning news anchor and multimedia journalist from WIBW-TV, will sing.

• Gospel rapper Big Boy, from Kansas City, Mo., also will perform and will speak about his faith transformation.

Eugene Williams, executive director and general manager of KTWU-TV, will be the program's emcee.

Avery said history is a major focus of the Topeka Family and Friends Juneteenth celebration. Beyond that, she said, the emphasis will be on children, families and the church.

"We're tying to get back to our roots and the way it should be," Avery said. "We don't want to change that theme. We try to bring everyone together."

A $500 prize will be awarded to the winner of an essay contest for middle school and high school students. Another $100 prize will be given away to an attendee whose name is selected in a drawing at the event.

Saturday's event will commemorate the 154th anniversary of Juneteenth, which dates back to June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, when blacks in the Southwest learned that slavery had been abolished and that they were free.

President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery was issued more than two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, but the news didn’t reach some of the southwestern states for more than two years.

Blacks who had been slaves in the Southwest celebrated their emancipation with the Juneteenth observance in Texas, which later moved to other areas of the nation.

Juneteenth holds a special connection for many Kansas residents, as thousands of former slaves made their way here as part of the Exoduster movement after they were freed.

In addition to Avery, other event organizers include Randy Wheat and Rodney Harmon.

For more information, visit www.tffjc.org.