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For years Evonza Smith-Kilgore celebrated Juneteenth Day in Harlem because there was no parade near her New Rochelle home. She has attended the White Plains Juneteenth Day parade and festival since it began in 2005, and was pleased to say the annual African heritage celebration has grown to attract people all the way from Harlem.
I like it all: the music, food, dancing, and especially that they have old cars and cars from before I was born, said Smith-Kilgroe, a life-long New Rochelle resident.
Over 60 community organizations, sports teams, dance ensembles, bands, and religious groups from all over Westchester gathered where Mamaroneck Avenue meets Old Mamaroneck Avenue on Saturday afternoon. Grand Marshal Rev. Dr. Lester Cousin from the Calvary Baptist Church ushered the parade up Mamaroneck Avenue and across Main Street to the steps of City Hall.
Many in the crowd lining Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue, including Smith-Kilgore, 44, said honoring the June 19th date of American slaves liberation was important.
Even though we live in a peaceful time...we have to remember where we came from so we dont repeat what happened in the past, said Smith-Kilgore, a former nurse.
Other attendees, like White Plains resident Phyllis Johnson, came to cheer along family members marching in the parade.
My nieces are in the drum core and the drum line, and I have godchildren in the Girl Scouts so Im just here representing, said Johnson, 49. [Juneteenth Day] keeps the traditions alive and lets people know about the roots of black people.
The annual Juneteenth Day celebration has grown into the largest parade in White Plains, and the biggest Juneteenth Day parade in Westchester County.
Before, everyone wasnt really aware of Juneteenth Day unless they studied it in school, said Johnson. Now everybody knows about it.
The dance routines, step rhythms, and musical pieces exhibited in the parade help attract a following, according to Mount Vernon resident Leonard Thomas.
You get to see the different cultures and whats new with the dance teams and bands, said Thomas, 16. You get to not just speak about [Juneteenth Day], but to show what its all about.
A 25-member Juneteenth Heritage Committee and its four or five chairs helped organize the parade and the festival that followed it in the Thomas H. Slater Center's backyard. The festival featured 17 music, poetry, dance, and fashion show acts as well as food, clothing, and art vendors.
According to Chairman Extempore Mack Carter, 62, the committee raised $35,000 for the Juneteenth Day celebration through year-long fundraising efforts.
"We're very happy that there's so much pride and respect for this parade," said Carter, the Executive Director of the White Plains Housing Authority.
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