Broadview Juneteenth Bash: Black Business Honored, Festival

(Broadview, IL) – For nearly a year, the Village of Broadview has prepared for its 2021 Juneteenth celebration, which includes a paid holiday for village employees, an honorary street name for the town’s longest-operating black business, and two days of celebratory events at Schroeder Park.

As a concrete recognition of the June 19, 1865 acknowledgement by the State of Texas of slavery’s end, Broadview, on July 6, 2020, became the first Illinois municipality to establish an official government Juneteenth holiday, providing a paid day-off to the village’s municipal employees, setting the stage the village’s 2021 summer celebration

“Texas was the last Confederate state to bow to the reality of slavery’s end by virtue of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and Broadview is the first town in Illinois to legally stand up an official, paid holiday for village employees to recognize the end of slavery,” said Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson. “We think that, like the 4th of July, that Juneteenth too needs to be officially recognized because on June 19, 1865, for all Americans, freedom became a reality.”

In addition to the village employee holiday, the Broadview is also honoring the Wallace Broadview Funeral Home, which is the first black-owned funeral home in Broadview and is the longest running, black-owned business (established in 1992) in the village. The Board of Trustees voted to create an honorary street name for the owners, Vernon and Gladys Wallace. At 20th Avenue and Roosevelt Road, it will be now known as the Vernon L. and Gladys E. Wallace Way, according to Thompson.

“The Village of Broadview, and I, personally, want to extend a deep appreciation to Vernon and Gladys Wallace for their outstanding service to the community and to the Wallace Broadview Funeral Home for its 29-year commitment to this town,” said Thompson. “We think it is appropriate and deserving to honor those who made free enterprise work for their family and for our community only because freedom was extended to all Americans.”

The Juneteenth weekend celebrations, which are expected to draw as many as a 1,000 people, according to the mayor, begin on Friday, June 18, with a fish fry at Schroeder Park from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. They continue on Saturday with Broadview’s showcase event, a day-long festival from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., which includes live entertainment, food vendors, and an awards ceremony. Broadview Trustee Judy Miller has been spearheading the organization of weekend events.

“Trustee Judy Miller has devoted several months of her time to coordinating and organizing the Juneteenth weekend celebration for which I am very grateful,” said Thompson. “We may have as many as a 1,000 show up to enjoy the Friday fish fry, dance at the Saturday festival, and celebrate African-American freedom on both days.”

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