
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The newest federal holiday recognized by the United States government, Juneteenth, has a storied history.
“Major Granger after the Civil War went to the furthest, most confederate state, which was Texas,” said Curtis Pitts, a community volunteer and event coordinator. “And on Juneteenth, he went there and told all the slaves in Texas they were free. He had two thousand soldiers and he had been traveling across the South, telling the slaves that they were free.”
As Pitts puts it, Kansas represents the heartbeat of the holiday.
“It is the point place. As we look around this great state capitol we see John Brown and many other great abolitionists. This free state movement started and moved to Kansas and became an international movement. But it also provoked many things that started the Civil War because many skirmishes were fought here before the actual Civil War started.”
It is fitting that the celebration migrated to the Sunflower State in the late twentieth century, originating in Topeka.
“I’ve been working with Juneteenth since about 1986,” said Pitts. ”When Mr. Jimmy Bullocks and Mrs. Shirley Wisholm started here in Topeka in the late seventies and early eighties. And they’re the ones that got it moving all across the state, right here in Topeka.
“I had never heard of Juneteenth until I met Jimmy Bullocks. And the thing that fascinated me about it, was it was a big giant festival and event. They have all these things that you see at Hillcrest, they would have stuff at Gage Park, and now we have the statewide Juneteenth here at the state capital.”
People of all ethnicities and races look back every year at this holiday and reflect on the effort to get where we are today.
“There was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears laid out so that they can have those inalienable rights that they take so much advantage of right now. It was just not given, it was earned.”
If you would like to take part in the Juneteenth festivities, multiple events are occurring here in Topeka. There is a calendar of events going on this week here.
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