Milwaukee's 52nd Juneteenth Festival was a day of unity, joy and celebrating freedom

Monday’s Juneteenth celebration was the 52nd in the city’s history. Milwaukee has one of the longest-running Juneteenth Day celebrations in the country.

It was a day of celebration, positivity and fellowship. There were community organizations sharing resources, foods of all types, live and DJ'd music wafting through the air. Thousands gathered to watch a parade with floats, collectible cars, and dance teams. The event was also marked by violence after the festival wrapped up. Six teens were shot in an incident that likely started with a fight.

James Causey of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted: "Juneteenth was wonderful, don't let the 0.1% dominate the conversation."

Many of us at WUWM took part in the event and spoke to festival-goers. WUWM reporters Maayan Silver, Emily Files, and Sam Woods roamed through the crowd to get the perspectives of some who attended. Reporters and producers Lina Tran and Joy Powers, and community engagement coordinator Rafa Muñoz spoke with people at a WUWM tent.

READ: Juneteenth is a reminder that African-Americans have a different history in the United States.

Robert Barnes, a veteran from Menomonee Falls says: “The bottom root of it is that in our culture, we love, we love! If you're looking at African American culture and our people the bottom basis is that really we like to love. We like to celebrate. We like to enjoy our life… enjoying life, love to party and celebrate one another.”

Ulyssia Wose is an elementary school teacher. Wose says, "My biggest take was the unity, with everyone coming together. Coming together for something positive. This is really a celebration of freedom from slavery, from years and years, and being able to celebrate that. And knowing what that means, as a culture, as history."

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Jordan Ratcliff of Milwaukee is 13 years old and came with her aunt Rondesha. “It means a lot seeing all the Black people here. My favorite thing about Juneteenth is the music and the food.”

Maayan Silver / WUWM

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Michelle Gillum has been coming to Juneteenth in Milwaukee since she was a kid. “When you look at things today, I mean, it's all connected. We're having a major issue in Milwaukee with crime. And a lot of that crime is with black youth. But it's all connected, knowing your history, you know, education, socio-economic conditions, it's all connected, all of it. So very important. It’s not just a celebration. It's also about the history for me and my family, who I'm here with. It's about all of that. So, you see a lot of different social agencies out here. That's a very big part of it, all of it.”

Maayan Silver / WUWM

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88-year-old Eunice Carter and her son Kevin Oatis were visiting Juneteenth. Kevin says Eunice hasn’t been to Juneteenth for a long time, so they came on out. He says love, “that's what [Juneteenth] is all about. Spread love. All negativity should you know go somewhere else? This is all about love. Loving your people, loving your land. Loving your city. Just love everybody.”

Maayan Silver / WUWM