It was a joyous and jubilant day in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood as hundreds gathered on the city’s West Side for the inaugural Juneteenth Freedom Day Parade.
“I feel wonderful,” said paradegoer Mechelle Moore Carter. “I got my sisters with me; we’re out here celebrating.”
The historic day is now considered a federal holiday as people celebrate liberation and commemorate the ending of slavery in America.
“Everybody showing support, that means the world,” said Carlisa Hunter, another paradegoer.
“It signifies freedom, my ancestors and just what we come from,” said Sharde Snyder, a North Lawndale resident. “I’m just grateful to celebrate my people and all the beautiful things we’ve done.”
Rev. Marvin Hunter of Grace Memorial Baptist Church led the festivities to mark the historic day.
“I’m just excited,” said Rev. Hunter. “Let’s stay together, let’s keep it going, let the unity and the energy that we feel now, let it continue to resonate in the minds, and I pray that young people will grab hold to this to make sure it never dies.”
He said not only are they celebrating liberation but also remembering the contributions of the late Robert Lucas. The civil rights activist marched down 16th Street in Cicero, fighting against housing discrimination in 1966.
“As a result of that day, we then received what we now know as the Fair Housing Act of 1968,” said Hunter. “Had it not been for that Fair Housing Act, I would not have been able to build Grace Manor.”
The parade ended at Grace Manor Apartments at Homan and Odgen, the affordable housing complex that’s under construction. The reverend, along with Mayor Brandon Johnson, held a cornerstone ceremony to celebrate the development.
“Today is proof positive that when we come together as the people, there’s nothing that could stop us from making sure that our people are taken care of,” said Johnson.
The project spearheaded by the reverend’s nonprofit is believed to be the first 100% mixed income affordable housing complex on the West Side. It will have 65 units. The ribbon cutting is slated for August.
“We’re setting a precedent here today, right, that they matter, this community matters, and what’s happening here with the affordable homes actually matters for the people that have been redlined,” said James Fields, Fields of Dreams Chicago founder and executive director.
Other longtime residents and faith-based leaders were thrilled to see the progress of the development on this historic day.
“We’ve been suffering from depopulation for a while, but now seeing more families coming back to the community—North Lawndale is on the rise and I’m excited to be part of it,” said Senior Pastor James Brooks, Harmon Community Church.
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