All of 159 years since the first Juneteenth celebration in Galveston, Texas, Solano County’s Black Chamber of Commerce celebrated the 2024 edition by celebrating local businesses and nonprofits and by providing the community with entertainment, food and fun.
Hosted in Allan Witt Park in Fairfield from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the first day of the Juneteenth celebration featured a DJ, booths from local businesses and organizations, and a fun atmosphere on a lovely summer day. The event will return for a second day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, when a free concert will be held with performances from John B. Cherelle and Alexander O’Neil.
VIP tickets will be sold for the Sunday entertainment program, which starts at 1 p.m., for $15 each. Beer and food sales were available and will be tomorrow as well. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 by President Biden.
The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, particularly the day when news of the end of the Civil War reached Galveston Texas on June 19th, 1865, more than two months after the conflict had officially ended. Major General Gordon Granger made a proclamation on that day notifying those in the area of their freedom when his troops reached the city.
Tony Wade, a local author and historian, attended the event to sell books and let the community know about his work. A Fairfield resident since 1976, he has written books about growing up in Fairfield, the lost restaurants of Fairfield and his alma mater, Armijo High School. He recently finished a book titled “Growing up in Vacaville” which will be out next month.
This is the third edition of the Juneteenth celebration in Fairfield, Wade said, and the first time at this park. Wade said the event has been particularly special since Juneteenth became a federal holiday.
“I think for one thing, we only had the one holiday, MLK day, and I think it was a long time coming,” said Wade. “Way overdue. It’s an integral part of our history that needs to be chronicled and celebrated.”
Wade said his book on Vacaville will highlight the onion factory, the prison, famous Vacavillians, and more.
“I crammed as much as I could in there,” he said. “It doesn’t have everything, it’s not the Encyclopedia Vacavillia, but it’s got quite a few things.”
Often, Wade said, folks don’t think about how much history is happening around them all the time, and they don’t think about how interesting those local histories can be.
“I try to write history books for people who don’t read history books,” he said.
Wade said he is working on another book now, but has yet to finish it. While he cannot yet announce what it’s about exactly, Wade said it will chronicle the history of a Solano County city.
Frawn Simpson, a social worker with the Office of Family Violence Prevention working at the Solano Family Justice Center in Fairfield, said her organization’s goal is to help those suffering from interpersonal violence. More than just domestic violence, she said, the organization helps anyone suffering from mental, physical, verbal, financial or emotional abuse. They also help with elder abuse, legal services, and building connections with other agencies.
The organization has multiple agencies under one roof, she said, creating a one-stop shop for individuals and families that might need more than one form of support.
“We have multiple different organizations that work within the building,” she said, “so we have both county agencies and nonprofits.”
Simpson said navigation is the goal of the organization, Simpson said, helping people reach out to all of the services they need. The Solano Family Justice Center is partnering with its counterparts in Contra Costa County to expand its services and help more people.
Solano Black Chamber of Commerce Tamuri CEO Richardson said she hoped the event would help outline the importance of the day to everyone involved, and will help the community celebrate the important holiday.
“Juneteenth is also about accountability: personal, cultural, human accountability,” she said. “We don’t want people to just acknowledge us as Black Americans, we want to be genuinely ingrained in the American DNA.”
