The Champaign Public Library’s Douglass Branch is hosting its 18th annual Juneteenth Emancipation Celebration on June 14. 

The event will take place from 12 to 3 p.m. and have activities like outdoor games and giveaways where locals can win prizes.  There will be performances from local talent including the Perfect Reflection Dance Team, Afro D & Global Soundwaves and DJ Silkee — a local DJ. 

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery, which happened on June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers went to Galveston, Texas to announce to residents that slavery was abolished.

Apart from having the CU community enjoy the event, Feltman wants people to remember the history that led to the event. 

“I would like people to take away that the celebration honors African American ancestors who survived the inhumane institution of slavery, ” Feltman said. “This helps demonstrate pride in the legacy of resistance and perseverance that we see to this day. It’s a celebration, but it’s also a time to remember.”

When planning the event, Tricia Duzan, the deputy director of the Champaign Public Library, said that the organizers’ goal this year was to bring local artists and businesses for the event. 

“Over the years, it’s been a mix of this and that,” Duzan said. “Sometimes that’s been local and outside the area. We kept it pretty local this year with DJ Silkee for that and felt it fit the right flow to keep things moving in a timely manner.”

Duzan said the event took months to organize and included regular meetings with the library and the Champaign Park District. As opposed to years prior,  the planning started right after the previous event. 

For Merry Mitchell, the recreation services manager at Champaign Park District, organizing the event included making sure that everyone can make it. This included members of the Champaign-Urbana community, who had a say in the planning. 

“We’re collaborating with a different organization schedule, making sure we find a time that fits for everyone and delegating tasks that way,” Mitchell said. “We also want to get community feedback and get some community members to let us know what they’re hoping to see.”

Besides going to a few events hosted by the Champaign Park District, the C-U community helps the organizers determine what precautions to take for the next Juneteenth event. 

This includes having maps for community members to find parking for the first time, and according to Elise Feltman, a librarian at the Champaign Douglass Branch, setting up air conditioning. 

“We are going to be utilizing all of the buildings on the Douglass Park campus this year, ” Feltman said. “Last year it was incredibly hot and we had a lot of feedback that it got a little uncomfortable, so we decided to open up the buildings to have cooling stations.”

In addition to the wide variety of activities at the event, the Douglass Branch recently opened The Makerspace with plans to present the technology there at the event. 

According to Feltman, this includes a new recording studio, sewing machines, a 3D printer, VR gaming stations and two PS5’s with the intention to bring the community together. 

Besides the year-long planning for the event, Feltman states there are challenges when getting volunteers every year. So far, 10 volunteers have signed up, short of their goal of 30 volunteers.

Feltman states that this has occurred due to University students having summer break when the event happens. 

Anyone that is interested in signing up to volunteer or find out more about upcoming events can do so on the Champaign Park District website. 

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