Good morning, Chicago. ✶
Today is Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas found out they had been freed — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Below, we have three stories covering how Chicago commemorated Juneteenth this year.
Plus, we’ve got the latest news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: Cubs defeat the Giants, 5-2; White Sox blank the Astros, 2-0.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a chance of thunderstorms and a high near 95.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Former Sox player — now an artist — helps young baseball players design Juneteenth shirt
Reporting by Mariah Rush
The next time the White Sox Amateur City Elite teens play a game, they can warm up in T-shirts they helped create with a former Sox player to celebrate Juneteenth.
The Amateur City Elite (ACE) takes in about 150 primarily Black aspiring professional baseball players ages 12 to 17 to be part of their teams and receive mentorship. Over the years, the program’s leaders have gotten local artists to collaborate with the young players during the holiday to create shirt designs for the kids to wear.
This year, a Sox alum was ready to help. Former third baseman Micah Johnson began focusing on his art after retiring from baseball following the 2018 season.
Eleven ACE players were selected to collaborate on a shirt for this year’s Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the day slaves in Texas were notified of their freedom. Honoring Black players that came before them was a common theme among the group, Johnson said.
All-Black burlesque show takes Juneteenth’s spirit of liberation to the stage
Reporting by Mariah Rush
Burlesque performers Jason Powell, Randy Phillips and Steven Taylor put together their first Juneteenth show in 2020, after the killing of George Floyd.
“It’s wild because we shouldn’t need a specific day to celebrate Black art,” Taylor said.
In celebration of the holiday this year, the performers have created the Juneteenth Jumpoff, a cabaret and burlesque show that premiered Tuesday and continues Wednesday at the Den Theatre. The show allows Black performers to express themselves for “Jubilee Day.”
Led by the three burlesque dancers under their production company Bawdy Suit, the shows will include individual acts from dozens of performers.
Burlesque is an often provocative, sensual performance that includes storytelling through dancing, comedy, singing and costuming. It isn’t often associated with Black culture.
Being Black onstage in a whitewashed industry is already a “form of activism,” said Powell, who is also one of the show’s producers.
Chicagoans celebrate Juneteenth, reflect on Black history: ‘This is who we are’
Reporting by Mary Norkol
Ruby Scott Smith has been celebrating Juneteenth since long before it was as widely known as it is today.
On Saturday, the 87-year-old danced to a drum line and rode a float in Garfield Park as part of the 10th annual African Awareness and Appreciation Parade in honor of Juneteenth.
For the festivities, Madison Street was adorned in black, red and green balloons and music thumped as shimmering floats made their way west and onlookers danced and waved.
Smith, from Naperville, attended with her daughter Becky Smith and friends Valarie Watkins and Sharon McFadden. The group has come to the parade since it was started by McFadden’s husband, the Rev. Donald McFadden, in 2014.
“We wanted to bring the community together for something positive,” said McFadden. “We hear so much negativity about our community. That’s not who we are. This is who we are.”
JUNETEENTH COMMEMORATIONS ❤️🖤💚
🎶 The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center’s Juneteenth celebration
Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
📍The DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Place
This celebration includes live music and theater performances, educational programming, family-friendly discussions, a health care pavilion and more.
Admission: Free
🎉 One Northside Juneteenth Celebration
Wednesday, 1-7 p.m.
📍Pottawattomie Park, 7340 N. Rogers Ave.
A community celebration with free food, music, games, a bounce house and more.
Admission: Free
🛍️ Juneteenth Freedom Market
Wednesday, 4-10 p.m.
📍The Salt Shed Fairgrounds, 1357 N. Elston Ave.
Presented by Refine Collective, this all-ages celebration features a market of more than 50 local Black-owned businesses.
Admission: Free
🛼 Juneteenth Skate
Wednesday, 1-4 p.m.; 5-8 p.m.
📍The MLK Skating and Bowling Center, 1219 W 76th St.
Lace up your skates and roll to the music, or gather with loved ones for a few games of bowling.
Admission: $20
MORE NEWS YOU NEED
- Firefighters battle massive blaze in West Town: The three-alarm blaze broke out about 6 p.m. Tuesday at a building supply warehouse at 2029 W. Hubbard St., according to the Chicago Fire Department. It was upgraded to a four-alarm fire shortly before 7 p.m.
- Chicago shuts down cooling centers: The city cited the Juneteenth holiday for closing all but one cooling center for vulnerable residents Wednesday even as temperatures are expected to exceed 90 degrees for the fourth straight day.
- Trump cancels Chicago hotel stay: Former President Trump’s campaign said Tuesday he will stay in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention in July after reports came out that he had booked a room at the Trump Tower in Chicago during the event.
- CPS to rename 3 schools: Three Chicago public schools are being renamed in the latest changes aimed at getting rid of racist or otherwise problematic namesakes.
- 7-year-old boy shot, killed on Near West Side: The boy was walking out of his home about 3 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Jackson Boulevard when shots were fired, striking him in the chest, police said. Sources say an assault-style rifle was used in the attack.
- When the cicadas are gone: Cicada carcasses and exoskeletons that have been shed make excellent fertilizer. To pass on their benefits to plants, scatter them in gardens or other areas you want plants to grow, experts say.
FROM THE OPINION PAGE 🗣️
On Juneteenth, remember the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921
By Ben Jealous
As we commemorate Juneteenth, we must not just remember the history and end of slavery. We must also remember the long shadow cast by the dehumanization of Black people in America.
Backlash against diversity and inclusion attempts to keep women of color on the margins
By Cherita Ellens
A federal appeals court panel suspended the Fearless Fund grant program for Black women business owners after a lawsuit claimed it violated federal law. Cherita Evans calls that a “cynical weaponization” of federal civil rights legislation.
Locke Bowman of the MacArthur Justice Center speaks during a February 2018 news conference announcing a federal lawsuit filed by the “Marquette Park Four,” from left, Charles Johnson, Larod Styles, Troshawn McCoy and LaShawn Ezell, who were wrongfully convicted of a 1995 double murder and robbery.
Max Herman/For the Sun-Times
‘Marquette Park 4' settlement is another sad example of the need for policing reform
By CST Editorial Board
Chicagoans see these cases over and over, shelling out millions for past misconduct that has sent innocent people to prison for years.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏀🏈
- Willie Mays dead at 93: The iconic center fielder was baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. His signature basket catch and his dashes around the bases with his cap flying off personified the joy of the game.
- Sky’s Angel Reese doesn’t feel like talking, and that’s OK. Is she? “We already know how strongly everyone is reacting to Reese. And we can already see it’s weighing on her,” Steve Greenberg writes.
- Bears sign WR DeAndre Carter to compete for punt returner job: Carter averaged 9.7 yards per punt return for the Raiders last year. In 2022, he averaged 11.7 as a member of the Chargers, which ranked second in the NFL.
PICTURE CHICAGO 📸
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
When do you feel most connected to your community in Chicago?
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
In Tuesday’s Afternoon Edition, we asked you: What does Juneteenth mean to you?
Here’s some of what you said…
“Juneteenth is a celebration of economic opportunity and freedom for those of us who descend from the history for slavery in this country. The best thing that anyone can do on Juneteenth is support Black owned businesses, invest in Black entrepreneurs, invest in Black creative art ventures.”
— Shelley A. Davis, 53, Bronzeville
“It’s a day all Americans should celebrate as it ended a disgraceful period of American history. Certainly can’t right all the wrongs one group of people inflicted on another but it’s a good start, I think.”
— Donna McMullin
“A celebration of respect for my neighbor.”
— Johnny Rivera
“Ancestors released from slavery. Freedom.”
— Shelton Bloodsaw Bonnie Sue
“Juneteenth is another reminder of what our ancestors endured to get us where we are today. It’s another day to uplift our culture and uplift our traditions. For people who wish we would forget our history, no way.”
— Tony Williams
For a brand new daily question, check Thursday’s Afternoon Edition. Not subscribed? Sign up here.
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Written by: Matt Moore, Katie Anthony and Satchel Price
Copy editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
