The annual Amarillo Juneteenth Parade rolled down Hughes Street in the North Heights community on Saturday morning to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Parade grand marshalls were Judge Thomas Jones and Tremaine Brown. Following the parade, David Lovejoy and Chuck Williams of The Chat served as masters of ceremonies at the celebration held in Bones Hooks Park.
Melodie Graves, president of the Amarillo NAACP and parade co-chair, spoke about this year’s Juneteenth Parade.
“This year’s parade was a resounding success with over 50 entries to participate in the parade,” Graves said. “We were out here to have a good time. This was a celebration of all cultures. This has been a tradition in our community since I was a kid, so putting this together and seeing the fruits of our work makes me incredibly happy.”
Graves said that seeing all these people come together to support the parade is a testament to a strong community. “I was delighted to see all of these people of all colors, cultures and religions come together to celebrate freedom today,” she said. “This is what Juneteenth is all about. We have grown as a parade every year with more and more people participating. Momentum has been gathering. People see this as something good and they want to participate.”
She said the diversity of participants should be what all events in the city strive for.
“This type of diversity is what it’s all about; this is the American dream and what we all strive for,” Graves added.
Amarillo’s Juneteenth 2024 celebration officially began with a pageant June 9, and other events include an Empowerment Week June 17-22. Festivities continue in Amarillo this week with a special Juneteenth event: a presentation of a historical marker honoring the park’s namesake at Bones Hooks Park on Wednesday. Look for featured content from this event in Sunday’s edition of the Globe-News and online at amarillo.com.
Check out was real simple, can't wait for the tote bag