Commemorating Juneteenth the old Austin way
It may be a federal holiday this year, but central Texas has been celebrating the day that former Galveston slaves learned of their freedom for more than 40 years. Despite the heat, Saturday was no exception.
The Central Texas Historical Juneteenth Parade was held on East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth. Juneteenth is a holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth became a Texas state holiday in 1980, and more recently a federal holiday in 2021. The parade went from 10 a.m.-noon and finished with a party at Rosewood Park that included live music, food and much more. The over 40-year-old parade had more than 65 different community groups walk the 1.2 mile route. Austin ISD participated in the parade and marched with its All-Star Band and other students and staff members in the district. AISD also decorated buses and held a banner in support of Juneteenth.
Two of our most experienced photojournalists—Naomi Di-Capua and Lillian Gray—covered the parade as part of their participation in the Interscholastic League Press Conference summer journalism workshop. We are pleased to share some of their favorite images as a special summer edition Tuesday Top 10 photo essay.
AISD CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH: As part of the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday down East MLK Boulevard on Saturday, Austin Independent School District employees joined the celebration. The employees holding this celebratory sign led the AISD procession and were followed by a collection of school buses decorated in Juneteenth’s red, black and green colors. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
A LOLLIPOP-ULAR POLITICIAN: From the back of a pick-up truck, District 4 Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela two-fisted tosses a mound of Dum-Dum lollipops into the crowd along East MLK Boulevard during Saturday’s Central Texas Juneteenth Parade in East Austin. Photo by Lillian Gray.
JUNETEENTH ROYALTY: Lil Miss Juneteenth waves from the top of a car while holding a bag of lollipops during the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday down East MLK Boulevard. Along with the Lil Miss, Jr. Miss, and Miss Juneteenth Queen also appeared at the parade, riding atop Austin Community College’s float. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
A BUBBLE SCREEN: A passenger in the pre-parade procession of pick-ups, Chris Cox brandishes a bubble leaf blower in order to spray a steady stream of bubbles into the crowd at Saturday’s Central Texas Juneteenth parade along East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in East Austin. Photo by Lillian Gray.
BUFFALO SOLDIERS: As part of a quintet of reenacting Buffalo Soldiers, two men sit on their truck taking in sights from the Central Texas Juneteenth parade while the other three reenactors observe from the sidewalk. The Buffalo Soldiers were regiments of African-American men who served in the western frontier with distinction following the American Civil War. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
SANTA SEEN: An unidentified child wearing noise-cancelling headphones might not have been able to hear Blue Santa’s arrival, but he tosses his arms in exultations after catching sight of the Austin Police Department’s alternately colored version of Saint Nick. Photo by Lillian Gray.
BUILT FORD TOUGH: UT linebacker Jaylan Ford (foreground) and defensive back Ryan Watts (background) walk with other members the UT athletic program while holding up the Hook’ Em Horns sign. Ford and Watts were among many of the UT students—football, volleyball and basketball players as well as spirit squad members—who appeared at Saturday’s Central Texas Juneteenth parade through East Austin. Photo and caption by Naomi Di-Capua.
HOT WHEELS: Blowing a bubble while riding a motorized skateboard, Austin firefighter Cameron Anguiano takes center stage while turning Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard into his own private skate park during Saturday’s Juneteenth parade. When he wasn’t advancing down MLK on his ride, he sprayed bystanders in the crowd with water to extinguish the oppressive heat at least for a moment anyway. Photo by Lillian Gray.
A ROYAL PERFORMANCE: An Austin Educate, Motivate, Minorities and Achieve Lady Royal dance team member performs during the dance team’s performance at the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday. E.M.M.A. was one of many dance programs that performed while marching the parade route. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
CHANGES IN STORE: Not only did H-E-B representatives march in Saturday’s Juneteenth parade, but the company joined the sponsorship group of the parade as part of its Be the Change initiative, which asserts the company’s stated commitment to advance equity and inclusion throughout Texas.
Ross Scott, a founding member of H-E-B’s first diversity council and a store director with more than three decades of experience with the company, said that he values his company’s community connection and that his favorite H-E-B community-supported event is Juneteenth.
“It’s an enjoyable time parading through the community and seeing the people that shop at my store,” he said in a statement that appears on the Long Center website.
Craig Boyan, H-E-B’s president echoed the sentiment in a statement on his company’s website.
“While our commitment to empower diverse communities and underrepresented groups isn’t new, we embrace our responsibility to do more.”
Photo by Lillian Gray.
JUNETEENTH JODY: Former UT women’s basketball coach and basketball hall of famer Jody Conradt smiles and holds up a Hook’ Em sign while riding on the back of a truck during the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday down East MLK Boulevard. Conradt was a part of the UT athletic department’s participation in the parade. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
SHE’LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT: Judge Selena Alvarenga who is up for re-election as the 460th district judge in 2024, holds up a sign advertising the “Travis County Democratic Party,” while marching in the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday down East MLK Boulevard. Alvarenga wrote on her Instagram account on Saturday that celebrating Juneteenth and what it represents is essential to creating equality for all. “Today commemorates the liberation of Black slaves in Texas,” Alvarenga said. “We should all reflect on what we can do, now and every day, to safeguard liberty and justice for all.” Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
A RIVER DOG AMONG RIVERBATS: An woman cheers while holding her dog from atop the Austin Community College float during the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade on Saturday. Along with her and her dog, the float also held Jr Miss Juneteenth and Miss Juneteenth Queen, who were appointed by the Miss Juneteenth Texas pageant. Caption by Naomi Di-Capua. Photo by Lillian Gray.
PFREE CANDY: Rudy Metayer, who is up for reelection to Pflugerville’s city council, throws a handful of lollipops off the back of his car during the Central Texas Juneteenth parade on Saturday through East Austin. Metayer was one of several community leaders and who threw candy to parade watchers as he passed by them in the motorcade. Caption and photo by Naomi Di-Capua.
A SCORE IN FRONT OF ATHLETES: Wearing a smile after securing an Airhead, a young girl races ahead of the Texas Athletics contingent during the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade. Saturday’s event allowed kids multiple opportunities to collect candy, as it was dispensed by nearly every float in marching group in the parade. Caption by Naomi Di-Capua. Photo by Lillian Gray.
![A PRIDE-FUL WEEK OF CELEBRATION:
As part of AISDs week-long celebration of PRIDE, students of the McCallum Spectrum Club worked to create a week full of activities, prizes and helping hands to support the schools LGBTQ+ community. The club is widely available for anyone to join, and specializes in creating a safe space for students to share and give advice. While Pride month itself isn’t until June, AISD designates one week in March to celebrate and commemorate the importance of this part of the student body.
As part of the week of festivities, the club held a booth in the front hall handing out pride stickers, pins and merch to passers by. For junior Zane Joly, the booth idea was brought up as a way for students to engage with one another, and connect with the community.
“I call out to people in the halls, ‘hey, do you want stickers?’” Joly said. “We just give out free pride stickers and sometimes other free pride merch to the students of Macallum because everybody likes pride stickers.”
While the week itself is packed with a variety of different activities, the overall goal is to bring students closer together and create a safer environment for self expression at McCallum.
“The idea for the student panel largely came from the black [history] student panel that is done during Black History Month,” Joly said. “And the idea for giving out free stuff was developed at Spectrum last year.”
Joly is not only a member of the Spectrum club, but also holds a leadership position giving them a more hands-on role with the projects and Pride Week activities.
“McCallum has a very high queer population,” Joly said. “I think Its nice that we get a chance to celebrate Pride because Pride Month is during the summer, and I think its just a nice thing for the community and getting to just celebrate it.”
While the merch table at lunch was only a small part of the numerous parts of McCallum’s Pride week, for Joly this small impact made all the difference.
“The purpose of Pride is to make people not feel alone and to make them feel safe,” Joly said. “The goal is [to make people] happy about a part of themselves that theyre often conditioned to not feel good about.”
Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Shila Gill.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/53597258192_6e7168d8ae_o-1-600x338.jpg)
