Community Park draws crowds for a Juneteenth celebration

The Rev. W.T. Edmonson announces plans to give $2,000 to the Opportunity 1888 Foundation during a ceremony on Saturday, June 18.
(Photo by Joe Gamm)
The Rev. W.T. Edmonson announces plans to give $2,000 to the Opportunity 1888 Foundation during a ceremony on Saturday, June 18. (Photo by Joe Gamm)


James Shipley, a young Tipton man, went to the post office to send a letter and met an Army recruiter.

The recruiter said he specifically was looking for Black men to join the Black Army Air Corps. Mechanics were needed.

"At the time, James was 19 years of age and knew that that was something he wanted to do -- become a mechanic," said Jacquelyn Jackson, Shipley's niece. "He volunteered to join the Black Army Air Corps. Of course during that period of time, the Army was still very segregated."

He joined and received training at Tuskegee Institute, in Alabama, in what was called part of the Military Experiment, which took place between 1942-46, Jackson said.

Recruiters were looking for Blacks who could be trained as pilots, mechanics, cooks, nurses and in other fields, who all, collaboratively, became identified and known as Tuskegee Airmen, she said.

More than 15,000 men and women were part of the Tuskegee Experiment, she continued.

"Shipley wanted to serve his country, even though it was segregated," Jackson said. "The racial struggles he and Tuskegee Airmen endured, and limited opportunities made it extremely difficult to do their job and succeed."

She read a comment from Shipley, who is now 98 and couldn't attend the event because of illness.

"We were just an experiment," Jackson said. "And they didn't think we were intelligent enough to fly ... The Tuskegee Airmen proved the country wrong. We could fly and work together as a unit."

Jackson spoke during the 2022 Juneteenth Emancipation Program, held at the Lincoln University Soldiers Memorial Plaza.

The Rev. W.T. Edmonson, chair of the Board of Juneteenth-Jefferson City, said during the ceremony he read about some of the history of Tipton on opportunity1888.org -- the website for the Opportunity 1888 Foundation.

He read how Tipton had two schools, one for whites and one for Blacks. But in 1888, a city bond levy brought the communities together to build two new schools, one for Blacks and one for whites. The bond raised $12,000 for construction of the two schools -- $10,000 of which went to the white school, and $2,000 of which went to the Black school.

"After reading that -- I was touched that even with that meager dollar amount, they were successful," Edmonson said. "Of course their school was not up to par with the white school, but they were successful with what they had."

The Juneteenth-Jefferson City board agreed to donate $2,000 to the Opportunity 1888 Foundation to help it continue preserving rich history.

Following a wreath-laying ceremony, those who could walked down the hill from the plaza to Community Park, where they launched the 21st-annual Juneteeth Heritage Festival.

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the United States. The holiday marks the anniversary of Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger's June 19, 1865, announcement proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas.

In the Capital City, the annual event is a celebration of Black heritage. Despite its 2021 cancellation because of the pandemic, scores of vendors and hundreds of celebrants turned out for the event Saturday.

Scores of vendors offered services at the celebration. Organizers held a bicycle giveaway. HyVee and the celebration board each kicked in $500 ($1,000 total) for four shopping spree giveaways.

"There's only one thing, you have to be a registered voter in order to receive that gift card," Edmonson told listeners from the celebration's main stage. "So, if you are not registered to vote, go over to the NAACP table and get registered."

The celebration has been long-coming, he told the News Tribune. Edmonson was involved at the beginning of the Juneteenth Heritage Festival. Being something new, it took time to catch on, he said.

Jefferson City's business community has supported the effort, he continued. The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge, he said.

"But, people had been cooped up so long, they wanted to come out," Edmonson said. "The businesses want to show that they are also supportive of this effort."

A goal of the event is to make people understand the importance of being a good citizen, he said. He said a hope is the opportunity to win a gift card will encourage people to register to vote. And, if people are already registered to vote, they're more likely to do so, he continued.

Through donations to the event, Juneteenth organizers were able to increase the number of activities occurring there. Among entertainers on the main stage were the Acoustimatics, Sylvia Ferguson and the Royal Tigerettes.

Steffaun Hardin, 12, early in the afternoon said his intention was to have fun Saturday.

"I'm going to play at the park, go in the bounce house and go to a birthday party," Steffaun said. "And hopefully win a bike."

Six-year-old Kennedy Coleman won a trophy for being second place for Little Mr. Juneteenth.

"It's cool," Kennedy said. "I haven't gone on it yet, but yeah, I like the bounce house."

His mother, Enjoli Dixon, said Kennedy didn't have difficulty finding things to enjoy at the event.

She said he enjoys the event every year, and has watched it grow.

Kennedy has an older brother who was at a basketball tournament being held at The Linc at the same time as the festival, Dixon said.

"Each year, the community comes out and supports Juneteenth," Dixon said. "It's very important that you support things like this in communities -- that people come together and learn about each other and look at all the various services we have in the community and various events that are going on."

  photo  Jacquelyn Jackson reads about her uncle, James Shipley, who was a Tuskegee Airman. Shipley, who is 98, was ill and couldn't attend Saturday's event. Photo by Joe gamm
 
 
  photo  The Rev. W.T. Edmonson and Abraham Douglas, a U.S. Army veteran, present a wreath at the foot of a statue at Soldiers Memorial Plaza, on the Lincoln University Campus. Photo by Joe gamm
 
 
  photo  Christian Woods, 4, slides down an inflatable slide Saturday during a Juneteenth celebration at Community Park. (Kate Cassady/News Tribune)
 
 
  photo  Mayor Carrie Tergin, right, buys baked goods from Angela Buckhall Saturday during a Juneteenth celebration at Community Park. (Kate Cassady/News Tribune)