BLOOMINGTON — Hundreds of families and friends gathered in Bloomington's Miller Park for the annual Juneteenth celebration Saturday, remembering the day the last enslaved people in the Confederate South learned of their emancipation. "This is our day to celebrate and that's why we are here," said Andrew Thomas, chair of the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project. "I like to use July 4 as a day for studying, but for me, today is my day of celebration.
" Andrew Thomas, chairperson for the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project, at Miller Park in Bloomington for the annual Juneteenth celebration Saturday. The holiday has been celebrated for over 150 years and has been a federal holiday since 2021. In Bloomington, Saturday marked another long-standing tradition, as the city's first-ever Juneteenth celebration took place on the quad of Illinois Wesleyan University in 1993, Thomas said.
Juneteenth is officially on June 19, which fell on Wednesday this year, but events in Central Illinois were held the weekend before and the weekend after, as well. This year, the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project, in partnership with the McLean County Museum of History and the City of Bloomington, put on a Juneteenth celebration with everything from kids activities, food trucks, and informational and vendor booths, to announcements and awards. "It's been hot and it's been a long week, but in a good way, it is a chance to really unwind and take a pause," said Jeff Woodard, director of mar.
