Rockford celebrates Juneteenth with day of music, poetry and more
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — Juneteenth celebrations took over Sinnissippi Park on Wednesday for what has been the longest-running annual observance of the holiday in the state.
Tommy Meeks pioneered such festivities 34 years ago to mark the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of slavery on June 19, 1865. Now, Juneteenth is also a federal holiday and Meeks’ annual event is a cultural celebration centered around music, poetry, talent shows and other family activities.
“This day is for us to appreciate our culture and celebrate it with this entire community,” said Gina Meeks, the city’s 12th Ward alderwoman and Tommy Meeks’ daughter. “What I’m so proud of Rockford for is that we have celebrated this here in this community for 34 years as a whole community. It’s never been an event for just people of color. It’s always been for everyone to enjoy, because who doesn’t want to celebrate the end of slavery.”
More news: Plume’s traditional dishes with a twist give Rockford’s North End a new culinary destination
This year’s festivities got a musical boost from Hard Rock Casino Rockford, which helped bring in the nationally touring California funk band Con Funk Shun to headline the event.
The event was also filled with regional and local musical acts, including Carl Cole and the YES Club. Trinity Rucker, who is the city’s official youth poet, delivered lines from Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” before singing a stirring rendition of “I Rise Up” with the YES Club.
“I saw a lot of people tear up — or at least I thought they were,” said Rucker, a 13-year-old who will enter eighth grade next year. “I just love to be able to touch people and allow people to feel happiness toward the Black community, rather than resentment or feeling agitated toward them, and just bring positivity all around.”
Juneteenth commemorates the date on June 19, 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were told by the Union army that they were free. That notice came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all enslaved people were free.
“A lot of people are in bondage in their minds or in their hearts,” Rucker said. “I would really just encourage everyone to tap into their true freedom and be their best selves.”
The event also incorporates education with multiple informational booths, as wells as food trucks, drink stands and a several of Black-owned businesses with vendor booths.
“Mr. Meeks has been putting this on for the majority of my life, and I’ve always come down to Sinnissippi,” said Tiana McCall, a Rockford School Board member. “I’ve brought my nieces and nephews and then my own children – just to emphasize the significance of this day.”
More photos | Juneteenth in Rockford
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
