Pflugerville hosts inaugural Juneteenth celebration, parade
- Ariana Garcia
- Jun 21, 2020
- 4 min read
Like ripples in water, Pflugerville’s inaugural Juneeteenth celebration Saturday started small but grew in numbers as the day progressed.
The event, hosted by Black Pflugerville and the Pflugerville Black Business Builders, kicked off at Lake Pflugerville with Mayor Victor Gonzales proclaiming June 19 as “Celebrate Juneteenth Day.”
“Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and celebrates the successes gained through greater opportunity,” Gonzales said in his proclamation. “The celebration of Juneteenth reminds each of us of the precious promises of freedom, equality and opportunity, which are at the core of the American Dream.”
About two dozen people were present for the morning events, which Gonzales noted. He said festivals in the city have always started small but said it will only continue to grow each year.
Gonzales said he and the City Council are working to make Juneteenth a city holiday, even if the federal government does not recognize it as a national holiday.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863, Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger brought federal troops to Galveston and announced the Civil War was over and enslaved Black people were free.
In 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. In 2020, all but three states observe it as a state holiday.
By the afternoon, hundreds of people had gathered for the event.
Alisha Jackson, president of Black Pflugerville, said she was overwhelmed by the community’s support of the celebration, adding it will be an annual event. She emphasized the importance of the holiday.
“We’re celebrating the freedom that was handed down June 19, 1865, but moreso the tenacity of our ancestors not giving up and how that strength translates to in turn burdens us, their descendants,” she said. “This is a day to celebrate that strength they gave us and move forward to keep fighting the fight.”
Council Member Jim McDonald, who has been a member of Black Pflugerville for more than four years, handed out Black Lives Matter signs at a booth where people could register to vote.
McDonald said he wanted to help amplify voices in the community and raise awareness about the holiday and what it signifies.
On June 6, Black Pflugerville held a remembrance march to honor victims of police brutality. McDonald said he helped register 16 voters at the march.
“There’s a lot of anger, frustration and sadness. We’re trying to take that energy and find positive channels for them to focus it on whether that be voting, filling out your census or volunteering for city government positions,” he said. “We’re trying to show the way that everyone can be engaged and pave the way for change.”
The Juneteenth event included live music, performances, food trucks, local vendors and presentations.
Kathy Rhambo, a life coach, guided those present in a meditative session. She explained the relevance of meditation in the fight against racism.
“We have got a fight ahead of us,” Rhambo said to the crowd. “As we fight more, we’ll have more demons to shake off. ... That’s where you need to be and you can’t be there if you’re mad, if you’re not at peace, if you make this about you. It’s not about you. It’s about us.”
City Engineer Patricia Davis also showcased information about planned improvements to the city’s historic Colored Addition, a subdivision dating back to the 1920s established for African-American workers who were not allowed to live within city limits.
In the evening, a car parade featured nearly 100 vehicles, followed by a memorial at Hill Country Bible Church honoring victims of police brutality.
Pflugerville High School student Rianna Taylor, 18, said she organized the evening’s events to provide a peaceful form of solidarity with national protests.
“I really wanted to go down there when it was peaceful at first but when I saw the violence coming out of it I was like, that’s not how I want it to work. That’s not how I want to fight for equality,” Taylor said about protests happening in Austin. “I believe that getting through all of this is between the power of God, peace and love.”
As the sun set, Taylor read the names of Black people who lost their lives to police brutality. The reading lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time associated with George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis last month.
Council Member Rudy Metayer, Pflugerville school district trustee Tony Hansen and Police Chief Jessica Robledo were among the city leaders who spoke during the memorial.
Looking out into the crowd, Metayer said Pflugerville’s diversity is what the rest of the country should strive for.
“Differences are not barriers to each other but help make the fabric that makes America so unique and so special when we’re united with one another in everything that we do,” he said.
For Metayer, Juneteenth signifies hope. “Think about those people when they found out they were free, when they found they were no longer under the bounds and chains of slavery, how they felt and what ideas and concepts they had in their minds,” he said. “That hope and that aspiration hasn’t changed.”
Some school students took the mic to share their personal experiences with racism.
Kennedy Edmonds, 19, said she was only 6 when she had her first encounter with racism. She said change will not be comfortable or easy, but the community uniting for the event demonstrates a common goal for the future: peace and justice for all.
“Our ancestors started this fight and it is our natural born right to finish it so, that’s what we will do,” she said. “There are people who are going out of our way to belittle our fight and take the light out of what we are doing but cannot let them deter us from our journey.”
While reforms to policing have been made, Edmonds said the fight for justice is not over.
“This isn’t a new fight,” she said. “George Floyd was not the first to die and he was also not the first to be shown on camera being killed by a police officer. But he will be the last.”
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