Juneteenth Day festivities around Wisconsin give participants a time to celebrate, support and uplift – Fond du Lac Reporter

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Dozens of people walked Saturday, June 20, 2020, down Main Street in Fond du Lac, Wis., during an Ebony Vision hosted march to commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of the last people enslaved in the United States.(Photo: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Daisy Frazier has been organizing Juneteenth Day celebrations for more than a decade, sometimes tucked away in one of Fond du Lacs shady parks, other years in a mall parking lot, at the local college and in front of the library.

There was always an abundance of soul food cooking, games for kids and an overall feelingof neighborliness.

This year is different. Black Lives Matter movements, diversity and inclusion initiatives and the overall treatment of people of color are sparking deeper conversations asthe holiday approaches.

On Saturday, inGreen Bay, there's spoken word poetry and a community meal. Milwaukee is hosting a50th anniversary extravaganza with a parade broadcast live and multiple events. Sheboygan's festivities will culminate inthe crowning of a teen royal court.

In Appleton,Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchildperformed during a celebration held June 13,along with 100 carnival dancers from Chicago.

Some local governments and businesses have given employees a paid day off for the first time, to honor the African American day of freedom. And some communities, among them Wausau and Stevens Point, are hostingcelebrations for what is believed to be the first time.

These statewide events provide opportunities to take a serious look at the history of people of color in the United States, said Frazier, who heads Ebony Vision, a group workingto foster inclusion. Fond du Lacs festivities run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Buttermilk Creek Park.

RELATED: Milwaukee has long celebrated Juneteenth here's why, and what makes it different from other cities' events

To remember Juneteenth, USA TODAY staff members read an excerpt of the Emancipation Proclamation. USA TODAY

Juneteenth Day commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation made slavery illegal, buteven today, Frazier believes true freedom is still only a promise.

Daisy Frazier, president of Ebony Vision.(Photo: Courtesy of Meghan Hyland)

The death of George Floyd while inpolice hands brought the problem of race relations to the forefront, demanding an honest and sincere examination of inherent racism, she said. I think a lot of people are now seeing things through a different lens. Its like a new day.

For fartoo longthe accepted norm has been todo or say something either throughwords or actionsthat exclude minority groups of people, Frazier said.

"Now I see that changing, I see awarenesschanging, andsomeday marginalized people will be included in every aspect of life. It willbecome as natural as breathing once we are able to acknowledge each time an actof exclusion happens," Frazier said.

People gathered June 16, 2018 in Buttermilk Creek Park in Fond du Lac to celebrate Juneteenth. A June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas.(Photo: Doug Raflik/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

In 1863 during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring freedom for more than 3 million slaves living under Confederate control.

It wasn't until two years after the Proclamation on June 19, 1865 that General Gordon Granger and a troop of Union Soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the end of slavery. At that time, Texas was isolated from much of the war and slaves were still being held captive. The announcement gave freedom to nearly 250,000 enslaved people in Texas.

Within a few years, African Americans in many states were celebrating Juneteenth, making it an annual tradition. It's now an official holiday in allbut three states: Hawaii, North Dakotaand South Dakota.FormerGov. Jim Doyle made Juneteenth Day a legal holiday in Wisconsin in 2009.

Efforts to have Congress declare Juneteenth a federal holiday have stalled.

Green Bay celebrations areslated for noon to 7 p.m. Saturday at Murphy Park, co-hosted by We All Rise: African American Resource Center and Black Lives United. The theme is: Black love, light and solidarity.

Robin Scott, executive director at We All Rise, said while the fight for freedom as a culture continues, Juneteenth Day serves asa catalyst for unity.

Young people will be able to engage and learn about domestic and global happenings for Black culture, and well have Black business owners sharing innovative ideas and products, Scott said. We want to show people its about more than just tolerating Black folks, its being intentional incelebrating, supporting and uplifting.

In Sheboygan, a new organization, Black Community Outreach, has stepped up tosponsorthe noon to 6 p.m. event at Kiwanis Park, said the Rev.Michael Thomas of Community Church. The group was formed to strengthenBlack leadership in the community.

During a time of racial unrest and a lot of tension, we wanted to do our part to unite and uplift the community, Thomas said. And as more people become aware of what we are doing, they are embracing our mission and joining in.

Juneteenth Day should be a celebration for all people, Thomas said, as anacknowledgment of past history and a way tospend time with folks who may be different than you.

Wausau communityactivist Kayley McColley is just 21 and helped organize a George Floyd march last summer that drew more than 1,500 people. On Saturday, she hopes the city's first Juneteenth Day festival will again bring the community together in solidarity.

"This has been an extremely trying year and a half. Between the pandemic and racial tensions, it has been both challenging and demoralizing at times," she said. "But this time, joy and celebration are the catalysts for coming together, as opposed to loss and grief. Im hoping people can come away from this event with a stronger sense of community and an expanded knowledge about Black history, heritage and legacy."

Adrian Johnson, 13, of Fond du Lac, says he wants to promote change through peaceful activism.(Photo: Courtesy of Amber Kilawee)

In Fond du Lac, Adrian Johnson, 13, a student at STEM Academy, said hes working to enact positive change in his community in peaceful ways. Heplans to attend the Juneteenth gathering and has participated inmarches with his family this past year.

He wants to see more young people getinvolved with promoting Black culture and history.

Theres an energy when we come togetherto support equity and some of these bigger issues people are talking about," Johnson said.

Contact Sharon Roznik at 920-907-7936 or sroznik@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook atfacebook.com/reporterroz/

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Juneteenth Day festivities around Wisconsin give participants a time to celebrate, support and uplift - Fond du Lac Reporter