What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth commemorates the day that slaves were freed in the United States — over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was declared and more than two months after the Civil War concluded. On that day, June 19, Major General Gordon Granger issued the official enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, where slavery had proliferated during the Civil War. Slavery had grown in Texas because it was the farthest state from Union territory, allowing slave owners to skirt its enforcement from northern soldiers encroaching on southern territories. According to Black Citizens and Friends President David Combs, the proclamation was only given to slaveholders and was posted on written notices. Combs added that it was illegal for slaves to learn to read, which significantly delayed its actual enforcement. Celebrations of Juneteenth began in the following year, largely in Texas churches, but soon spread across southern states. While Juneteenth centers around the end of slavery, it’s worth noting that Black residents in Delaware and Kentucky remained enslaved until December 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.
A 2024 poll found that 90% of U.S. residents “are aware” of Juneteenth, which was declared a federal holiday four years ago.
It’s a notable rise from the 74% of residents aware of Juneteenth in 2022. Still, the poll noted that 32% of respondents who were familiar with Juneteenth could not correctly identify why the holiday is celebrated.
Saturday’s Juneteenth event at Lincoln Park was the fourth annual celebration intended to raise awareness of the day, teach its historical significance and bring locals together.
“Myself, being a black American, I didn’t know about it until I was in middle school because it was never taught, even in grade school,” Black Citizens and Friends President David Combs said. “I learned it from my parents and other black people in the community.”
“In the school district, I would venture to say that only a small population really understands or has been taught about Juneteenth,” he added. “It’s nothing against the school district, it’s just the overall education process, where there’s a lack of history, even in history (classes).”
The celebration featured local food trucks, live music, informative booths and an array of activities — including the limbo, double-dutch jump roping and a scavenger hunt centered around Black history.
Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration was the fourth hosted by Black Citizens and Friends, a 42-year-old grassroots organization dedicated to awareness and advocacy for Mesa County’s Black community.
Combs said that events like Saturday’s, which offer a venue to connect with Mesa County’s minority communities and culture — are a critical tool to accomplish the organization’s goal.
“We have a small Black population in Grand Junction, but what this does is it gives us the opportunity to educate anyone in western Colorado who wants to attend,” Combs said. “It gives them an idea that, yes, there is a community here that wants to share our culture, our knowledge and our history.”
Beyond the traditional festivities and education, community members and organizations were also honored for their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Grand River Academy Teacher Dara Karima Fubler received the “Josephine Dickey District 51 Teacher of the Year Award,” which Combs said she earned through a commitment to equitable learning across all types of local schools and for her role as the director of Grand River’s social emotional learning program, Capturing Kids’ Hearts.
Colorado Mesa University Upward Bound Director Shelby Burrouds Prizgoda earned the “CMU Employee of the Year” award.
Prizgoda received the accolade for her role in Upward Bound, a preparatory program empowering local first-generation students at Central and Grand Junction high schools to enter and succeed in college.
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Nikki and Isaiah Tyler with Desert Bloom Gardening and Hydroponics accept the award for 2025 Juneteenth Inclusive Business of the Year during the fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration at Lincoln Park on Saturday.
The final recipient was Desert Bloom Gardening and Hydroponics, a local company dubbed Equitable Business of the Year. Combs said the choice was clear given Desert Bloom’s commitment to empowering anyone in the community to grow their own food and medicine through an array of seeds, soils, compost, mushroom-growing supplies and holistic products.
After the awards, the Juneteenth celebration concluded with a message from keynote speaker and Mesa County Public Health Executive Director Xavier Crockett.
“One of my favorite historians, Angela Tate … said that Juneteenth always feels fluid, adaptable to the incoming and upcoming generations and relevant to the continuous quest and fight for freedom and equality,” Crockett said. “For me, as the director of public health (that) means standing up for access.
“That means access for health care, access for behavioral health, access for safe housing, access for education, access for fresh food and jobs for anybody who wants one. That’s how we honor this day: by building those systems that reflect the freedom of our ancestors that was promised.”
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