City Of Fort Worth: Lake Como Community Starts A New Juneteenth Tradition

Press release from City of Fort Worth:

July 07, 2021

The Lake Como community is well known in Fort Worth for its historic events. This Juneteenth, one resident, Kendra Williams, with the help of fellow neighbors, decided to start a new tradition to add to the annual list.

The first Lake Como Juneteenth Celebration was filled with multiple activities and brought everyone together to commemorate a significant day.

The inaugural celebration started before June 19 with all the planning and creative ideas that neighbors shared. From decorating to story times, there was no shortage of neighborhood involvement.

Activities leading up to the big day included a home and yard decorating contest for residents and businesses. Participants were encouraged to use a black, red, green and yellow color scheme in honor of Juneteenth and also had the option to show community pride by using the Lake Como colors, purple and gold.

The planning team partnered with Sandra Reyna Stanley Ministries LLC to present $250 scholarships to two high school seniors. Stanley, founder of the organization, helped coordinate the essay contest and determined the winners of the scholarship. Students submitted an essay reflecting on “What Juneteenth means to me.” The contest produced three amazing participants, and each of them ended up receiving a scholarship.

Once June 19 arrived, the neighborhood was ready to start more festivities. The community began the day with the Freedom Ain’t Free walk. Residents walked together starting at the historic Zion Missionary Baptist Church and ended at the new Lake Como Community Center.

“The walk was very emotional for me simply due to the realization that our ancestors took steps for us, walking down paths we never have to walk, so that we could be in a better place today,” Williams said.

Once everyone arrived at the Lake Como Community Center, they were greeted by two community leaders for a storytelling. Ella Burton, Lake Como Neighborhood Advisory Council president, told stories about Juneteenth, and Estrus Tucker, longtime civic leader, shared the history of Lake Como.

The day continued with a vendor fair highlighting 10 local businesses at the community center and ended with the judging of the home and yard decorating contest. More than 25 homes, businesses and churches participated. The celebration ended with awarding first, second and third place winners for their impressive decorations.

“For this being the first Lake Como Juneteenth Celebration, I am completely overjoyed with how everything went. It was a beautiful and historic moment, and is definitely something I plan to do every year. To me, Juneteenth is not just about celebrating being free from slavery, but celebrating us as a people, from the great accomplishments contributed to the world and the culture we have created,” Williams said.

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Photo: The Freedom Ain’t Free walk led from Zion Missionary Baptist Church to the Lake Como Community Center.

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This press release was produced by City of Fort Worth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.