MILWAUKEE — Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, is the national holiday that commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday in 2021.
Milwaukee has one of the largest and longest-running Juneteenth celebrations in the country. Joining celebrations in the Texas-Oklahoma region and other southern states, Milwaukee's celebration got underway in 1971 under the direction of the Northcott Neighborhood House.
Mac Weddle served as the Executive Director of Northcott for over 40 years and has co-hosted TMJ4's broadcast of the Juneteenth parade for the past three years. He sat down with TMJ4's Andrea Williams to discuss the importance of the event.
"We're back here at Northcott Neighborhood House," said Williams. "You've been retired for five years now. What's it feel like to come back to where you spent four decades?"
"It feels really good. You know, as soon as I walked in the building, I received a lot of love," answered Weddle. "And under Mr. (Tony) Kearney's leadership, we just see it grow even more within those five years. So, it makes me feel really, really good."
"It's important for people to understand that Juneteenth is a big part of what Northcott does, but that's not all," said Williams.
Weddle agrees, "Northcott serves over like 10 thousand people, youth programs, senior citizen program".
As a longtime participant in making Juneteenth happen, Williams asked what goes through his mind as he watches the parade each year.
"Just to see so many people in the parade and just the smiles and the children lined up, you know, watching the parade and participants in place throwing out candy and hugs and kisses and it's just a beautiful sight. You know, it's all about unity and fellowship," said Weddle.
Bader Philanthropies has participated and sponsored the Juneteenth celebration for many years as well. Frank Cumberbatch serves as the Vice-President of Engagement at Bader Philanthropies.
"My role here as a community person is to always put the community first," Cumberbatch said.
The mission of Bader Philanthropies is to help people and honor the legacy of their founders. For more than three decades, they continue to practice the intention of its trailblazing founders, Helen Daniels Bader and Isabel and Alfred Bader. They moved from the Historic Third Ward in the 1990's followed by the decision to move to the Harambee neighborhood in 2018.
"We serve mainly Milwaukee in areas such as youth, the arts, Alzheimer's and Aging, and urban education, we're still involved in education, but in education involving the 53212 zip code," said Cumberbatch.
Since 1992, Bader has awarded over $516 million in grants throughout the Milwaukee community. As Andrea and Frank spoke, there was construction going on right across the street and Bader had a hand in that project as well. "We invest in those because we are here as a partner, as a neighbor," said Cumberbatch.
"(It [Juneteenth] means the recognition of the journey of the African American people, that it's a day of remembrance, you know when the slaves found out that they're free. As we know freedom comes at a cost. And we're not quite totally free yet," Cumberbatch said.
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