'This is just a beautiful day': Juneteenth brings smiles, resolve in Aurora
Marvin Byrd grew up in segregated Georgia, attended a Blacks-only school and fought in the Korean War, and when he returned, he wasn't allowed to serve in the nearby Army Reserve unit because it was for whites.
Saturday, looking smart in his immaculate 1963 Chrysler New Yorker, Byrd reflected on Juneteenth being declared a federal and state holiday.
"It's a part of history," Byrd said, as he waited near Philips Park in Aurora for a Juneteenth car parade to start. "It's affiliated with getting away from two societies - Black and white. Hopefully it's another means of white folks understanding segregation ... although they'll never fully understand."
President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday Thursday. It marks June 19, 1865, when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they were freed, two months after the Civil War ended and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted.
"It's been a long time coming," said Mary Fultz, president of the Community Advocacy Awareness Network, which sponsored the car parade.
Saturday was a moment to celebrate, but "what a lot of people don't understand is, what's next?" Fultz asked. "It's been declared a national holiday - what's next? What are we going to do as a community, as a nation to be sure that Juneteenth means more than just tagging it as a national holiday?"
Aurora's Juneteenth events were organized by the African American Men of Unity group and also included a festival with a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
"This is just a beautiful day to be recognized that slaves were freed," said Tonya Brewer of Aurora, who brought her grandsons, Khalid Howard, 9, and Kharil Howard, 4, to the car parade.
"I was telling them that in Texas they didn't know for two years they were freed, so this is educational for them. Some of them don't understand the depth of it, so I'm instilling this into them because they're so young."
Khalid added, "It's good to know about your history and what happened with Blacks and whites."
Alicia Burgess of Aurora decked her car with the African American flag and the African Liberation flag.
"It's the beginning of something big ... more unity within the Black communities, and with the world in general," she said.
Byrd, a former NAACP local chapter president, recalled being discriminated against by white officers while serving in the Korean War.
"This country could have been very well off if it accepted the skills and talents of all of its citizens. You can't do battle with one hand and the other hand tied behind you."
His take-away on a historical day: "When the Declaration of Independence was written, it was all inclusive of all citizens, without segregation and discrimination."