Juneteenth celebrations take center stage at Levitt Pavilion

Community members from across the Metroplex gathered at Levitt Pavilion on Saturday for an early Juneteenth celebration, highlighting diversity and Black culture within North Texas.

Juneteenth was recognized by the federal government as a national holiday June 17, 2021, commemorating the day slaves in Texas were officially freed.

Saturday’s celebration was hosted through a partnership between Levitt Pavilion, Service First Initiatives Incorporated and the Arlington chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

The event featured live music and various vendors, offering everything from lemonade and tacos to toys, trinkets and memorabilia.

The live music kicked off with a prayer and an acapella performance of the national anthem by the Truth Acapella group. Afterward, the critically acclaimed music group Celestial Clockwork took the stage.

As the group began their performance, their hypnotic sound of funk and R&B flooded the lawn. Many attendees stood up to dance and sing along, while others watched in contentment.

Omar Roberson, member of Phi Beta Sigma, said events like these help educate the community on the history of these celebrations.

“I didn’t know anything about Juneteenth until I was grown, and so I’m 43, but I did not know about this,

it’s celebrating that, celebrating us, celebrating our culture and making sure that we empower each other,” he said. ”We have our freedom, but we know that there’s a cost of being free.”

Roberson said working with Levitt for the past three years has been a wonderful experience because it relates to their mission of mentoring youth and making the world better.

“Whether that’s health and wellness, you know, financial literacy, just community service in general and just furthering education, whether it’s formal or non-formal, just celebrating us,” he said.

Roberson said now that we have Juneteenth as a national holiday, it shows that we are being honest about our history, and gives people the opportunity to celebrate and elaborate together.

“Diversity means having empathy for everyone’s experience and I think that we’ve seen more of that,” he said. “Obviously, there’s probably more work to be done and, you know, the work is never finished, right? It’s never finished but it’s all about the journey and progressing forward.”

Tina Myles, a local vendor at the event, has been celebrating Juneteenth since her childhood.

When the federal government officially recognized Juneteenth as a national holiday in 2021, it brought along changes that Myles wasn’t looking for.

“Honestly, I was a little upset about it, because the federal government made Juneteenth the holiday when we were protesting police brutality, and we asked for change and looking into how police are policing our neighborhoods, and they did nothing,” she said. ”But then they said, ‘Oh, let’s give you a holiday to make you forget about all the stuff that’s been happening.’ We’ve already been celebrating, it’s not new for our communities.”

Myles hopes that the community will continue to recognize what the holiday actually is and what it stands for.

Celestial Clockwork’s performance was followed by jazz fusion group Reggie T. and the Boneheads & Freakwency.

While music filled the air, children could be seen playing with bubble machines and chasing one another.

Attendee Gary Smith sat on the lawn with his wife, experiencing their first Texan Juneteenth celebration.

“I’m originally from Arkansas, and Juneteenth was very big,” Smith said. “I mean, it was a wonderful small town and the population like, tripled. People came in from all over just to celebrate. It had music, ball games, baseball tournaments, parades and all.”

He said this holiday gives Black people more opportunities to be around different races and cultures, and is a chance to bring all kinds of people together.

“A lot of people didn’t actually know the real history and now, you know, they’re learning more about it.”

The final act of the night was the gospel soul group The Sensational Barnes Brothers, who offered the audience a blend of both old and new music styles, wrapping up the event with a final act of togetherness.