Juneteenth celebration is Saturday

Jasmine Sales, left, and Taneshia Pulley, organizers of the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration in Sikeston, discuss the event Monday morning at Lincoln Park. The celebration will be held from 2 p.m. until around 7 p.m. at Lincoln Park, with many events planned. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat)

SIKESTON — After a successful first year holding a Juneteenth Celebration, organizers are hoping for an ever bigger event this year.

The Second Annual Juneteenth Celebration will be held Saturday from 2 p.m. until about 7 p.m. at Lincoln Park, with many events planned after a successful first year.

“Last year, Jasmine Sales and I came up with the idea to celebrate Juneteenth because it had been becoming nationally recognized,” said Taneshia Pulley, adding they had over 300 people in attendance.

“This is something to give back to the community as well as educating them on Juneteenth and the importance of African-American history. It’s something a lot people don’t know much about.”

Last year on June 17, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making June 19 a US federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday will be observed on Monday since June 19 falls on a Sunday this year.

The Sikeston event will be similar to last year with a few additions, including a parade that will begin about 3 p.m. and run from Young to Petty Street. There will also be a performance from the Bootheel Divas, a dancing team.

Pulley said they will team with the Sikeston Chapter of the NAACP.

“They will be here to be a vendor, hand out information and they’ll be in the parade as well,” Pulley said. “The Mason group will also be out here giving out free hot dogs.”

Longtime Sikeston resident and retired educator Homer Jackson will once again have a history display, this year entitled: “Its Past Assumptions, Its Present Analyst and Its Future Assessment.”

Pulley said Jackson will have many artifacts with African-American history as well as African history as well.

“We’re also having a group of motorcyclists from Cairo, Illinois, coming called the Buffalo Soldiers and they are going to come and tell the history of their biker group,” Sales said.

There will also be a basketball tournament with a free throw contest and a three-point contest as well as food, music, games, a bouncy house and more.

Pulley said there will be many different vendors as well. The proceeds made from the vendors fee will all be donated to the Juneteenth Scholarship Fund. (See accompanying story) The scholarship recipient will be announced at the event as well.

Juneteenth scholarship helps put focus on youth

By David Jenkins/Standard Democrat

SIKESTON -- During last year's Juneteenth Celebration in Sikeston, organizers Taneshia Pulley and Jasmine Sales focused on celebrating the event that is now a federal holiday. This year, the focus includes helping one kid at a time. "Last year we were just celebrating because we were happy to have our first Juneteenth event, but then we came up...

“We have a lot of organizations in our community here, and we are just spotlighting them and making it a community event,” Pulley said.

While this is the second annual event, both Pulley and Sales did mention there was a previous Juneteenth event held in Sikeston decades ago.

“We didn’t find out until last year during the event that a man held a Juneteenth at the old Lincoln School in the early 1990s,” Pulley said. “Jasmine and I are just going to continue it.”

But they said they couldn’t do it alone, giving a special thank you to Jessie Bonner, who has helped with the preparation of this year’s event.

And Pulley added the event is open to everyone.

“You don’t have to be Black,” Pulley said. “You can be whatever you want to be. Everybody is welcome to come. It’s to give to the community as well as give it the recognition that it deserves.”