The local branch of the NAACP is preparing to host its third annual Ernestine Jackson Juneteenth Freedom Day Parade in Downtown Peoria.
Slated for Saturday, June 13, the parade – led by 4th District Councilman Andre Allen and his family – is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
Parade participants will gather in the Fulton parking lot ahead of kickoff before turning left onto Southwest Monroe Street. The procession will then pause at the intersection of Main and Monroe streets before turning southbound onto Main Street. The route will continue down to Adams Street, where participants will make a left, before turning right at Hamilton Boulevard and dispersing.
With a procession of over 70 units, onlookers will find “vibrant multi-cultural celebrative expressions of Jubilee,” a news release noted.
The event’s namesake, Ernestine Jackson, worked as the city’s first Director of Fair Employment and Housing. The release described Jackson – who passed away in 2023 – as “a trailblazer for civil rights.”
“For over 50 years she fought for equal opportunity in the workplace, housing and education while working tirelessly to end discriminative practices of any kind for ALL People!” the release said.
Juneteenth falls on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. While the date has long been celebrated, it became a federal holiday in 2021.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Juneteenth parade bringing ‘celebrative expressions of Jubilee’ to Peoria
Reporting by Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
