SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — This upcoming Saturday brings a Juneteenth celebration in Sioux Falls; Harriet Yocum will be grand marshal.
“This is American history, it’s not just Black history, but it’s important to remember our past and to work with our future,” Yocum said. “We can’t forget about the ugliness of what’s happened, because that’s what’s brought us here today.”
Saturday’s event will be at Kenny Anderson Park next to Washington High School in east Sioux Falls
“It is so important for everyone to recognize Juneteenth,” Yocum said. “It is not just a holiday where Black Americans are celebrating, this is an American holiday, it is a freedom holiday.”
Juneteenth became a federal holiday last year, celebrating the end of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, and Union troops went to Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 to enforce it.
“I think it’s so important for us to be educated and to highlight what we have done, things that we have faced and overcome in the Black community,” Yocum said.
Julian Beaudion of Sioux Falls is helping to organize Saturday’s event.
“For me, and for Juneteenth Sioux Falls, Harriet has always been really dedicated to specifically the Black community, and she’s been very, very intentional about really mentoring young Black women, especially in the space of entrepreneurship and also in the space of the nonprofit world,” Beaudion said.
Yocum lives in Sioux Falls; she has been involved with Avera Health, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, Junior League of Sioux Falls and more. She says Juneteenth is a celebration.
“It’s a celebration of freedom, our freedom for all Americans, and what I would convey to everyone is to please come out and celebrate,” Yocum said.
