DHA celebrates, educates the public on the importance of Juneteenth

The Dunbar Heritage Association held a community event at the Dunbar Recreation Center to celebrate Juneteenth from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. According to the website, the Dunbar Heritage Association was organized by Harvey Miller in 1999 as a charitable organization “to ensure the continuance of the three cornerstones of Black culture that he had dedicated himself to building for more than four decades.” The DHA works to preserve Black culture through social practices, traditions, rituals, artistic expression, spiritual beliefs and language. The group celebrates traditions by hosting annual celebrations, including the Juneteenth festivities. DHA also advocates for the beautification of the Dunbar Cultural Historic District and educates the community about Black culture.

“Juneteenth is for everybody,” DHA Vice President Mittie Miller said. “It's not a black holiday, okay? It is an everybody holiday.”

During the Juneteenth event, Ginger Dickerson gave a speech about Opal Lee who is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” because she played a critical role in making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Dickerson said Lee devoted herself to her community by volunteering and operating a food bank, which had a farm and community garden.

“Miss Lee adopted a new mission to ensure that Juneteenth, a holiday long embraced by Black Americans, would be recognized as a federal holiday and celebrated by everyone in the United States. Miss Lee began a working campaign in 2016, which took her from Fort Worth to other cities en route to her destination, the city of Washington D.C.,” Dickerson said, adding that she would walk the first two and a half miles to each new city on her way to Washington D.C. to reference the two and a half years that it took for enslaved Texans to learn they were free. “Miss Lee’s walking campaign became an annual event until June 2021 when legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden. Ms Lee., known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, was invited to the White House signing ceremony where she received a standing ovation.”

There will be one more DHA Juneteenth festivity upcoming from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on June 29 at the San Marcos Public Library — Black King’s, which Miller said is meant to celebrate exceptional Black men in San Marcos.

Miller said DHA will be accepting donations as they plan to bolster the Juneteenth festivities for next year by including a parade, a 5k race and a fireworks display.