With Juneteenth gaining national recognition just this week, it is also the first year that the annual Juneteenth celebration in Grand Rapids is a city-sponsored event. City leaders approved that move in August.
Jordoun Eatman, the equity and engagement project manager for the City of Grand Rapids, has helped bring more attention to Juneteenth in the city. He says he’s honored to see how far the city has come and is excited to see what’s ahead.
“Seeing that change here in Grand Rapids, I’m proud to be a part of that," Eatman said.
While the holiday only just received national recognition, celebrating Juneteenth is nothing new for the area.
“This has always been something that’s been celebrated throughout the community," Eatman said.
The annual GR Juneteenth event will be sponsored by the city for the first time this year and it’s just one of many celebrations happening across Grand Rapids.
“What started off as one or two events happening throughout the city, this year, there’s over 10,” said Eatman.
The city is also co-sponsoring a number of Juneteenth events.
This includes the inaugural Roll Bounce Juneteenth Celebration by the Black Impact Collaborative, an initiative started at the beginning of the pandemic to address the needs of Black Americans concerning COVID-19 with plans to continue the work beyond the pandemic.
The chair of the Black Impact Collaborative, Dallas Lenear, tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE, “Get your skates ready!”
This weekend’s Roll Bounce event not only offers an outdoor skating rink all weekend long, but also onsite vaccinations and a fitness fundraiser. You can learn more about this event and the Black Impact Collaborative on their website.
“I think it’s a unique time in the timeline of our country to mark this Juneteenth,” but “it’s not just about Black people and their freedom. If we are really the United States of America, then if any Americans are hurting or are captive, then all of America is captive and so, again, it’s an opportunity for us to celebrate this united freedom,” said Lenear.
Eatman says this is “a major thing for our city and our community as a whole. Especially making sure that people have a sense of belonging, and when you talk about cultural events or cultural things, it really speaks to one’s ability to see themselves in that community.”