The community of West Broadway in Minneapolis celebrated Juneteenth with their annual block party stretching from Lyndale to Emerson Avenues North.
Only a mile and a half from where the University of Minnesota Juneteenth Celebration once was, the block party took place. Four blocks were closed off for the annual Juneteenth block party.
The University of Minnesota was supposed to host its fourth annual Juneteenth celebration, which in the past featured a march commemorating Black lives, vendors, sidewalk painting, rollerblading, music and speakers, according to the University of Minnesota Juneteenth Celebration’s website.
“The University is not hosting a Juneteenth celebration this year due to budget constraints,” Andria Waclawski, the university’s director of public relations said when asked about the cancellation.
Waclawski said she did not have details on the budget, but to her understanding, the decision was made internally by the Office of Equity and Diversity last fall.
“While we are not hosting our own event, we are working directly with community members to honor and celebrate Juneteenth. We continue to encourage our students, faculty and staff to engage in their communities across the state as well,” Waclawski said.
The block party featured a parade, D.J.s, bounce houses, a petting zoo, vendors selling items such as food and clothes and booths promoting future election candidates and new laws to help the community.
The University of Minnesota Black Student Union had a table at the block party to help community members and students who might have attended the event know that this community is there for them. Mordecai Omweri was running the booth for the student union and said to him, Juneteenth is more than celebrating the past.
“I think the most basic answer is the emancipation of the slaves, but it also is just for us to come and celebrate everything Blackness,” Omweri said. “Juneteenth means freedom, and it means a celebration of that freedom.”
Simon Dyson, who grew up in the area, said that the community has always been very important, and it is beautiful to see his neighborhood celebrate together.