It’s impossible to determine who was the happiest person at Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration in Naperville.
But a good guess would be Ginger Grant-Del Valle, a Naperville resident by way of New Orleans and Chicago.
Toward the middle of the three-hour event, held at Rotary Hill Park and put on by the Naperville Neighbors United group, about 20 people decided to move closer to the stage and dance to the music by performers of the Mays Music Centre of Excellence.
The 48-year-old Grant-Del Valle, who is a Hurricane Katrina survivor with three autistic children, danced and smiled like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Urged by a friend to come to Saturday’s event, the doctor of education enjoyed what she saw.
“I love that we are focusing on diversity and equity, which is so important for all of us,” she said. “I want diversity and equity to be on the minds of all of us and that those around us embrace it.”
Her 6-year-old twin girls are verbal and her 8-year-old son is non-verbal.
“Inclusion is big for me,” Grant-Del Valle said. “My children are autistic and biracial so diversity is also very important to me.”
With all that she has been through, including rebuilding her home in New Orleans after it was damaged, she still maintains a positive outlook on life.
“I can either have a pity party or make lemonade,” she said. “I choose joy. If you change the way you look at things, things will change.”
Change was what the Juneteenth celebration was all about.
The event marks the June 19, 1865, anniversary of when Union soldiers came to Galveston, Texas, to announce that slaves were to be liberated by the Emancipation Proclamation. It was the last part of the country where Blacks had yet to be freed, two months after the end of the Civil War.
In 2021, Juneteenth became a state and national holiday and this is the first year Naperville Councilman Benny White’s Naperville Neighbors United group hosted the celebration event.
There was music, trivia and guest speakers.
A moment of silence was held for the family of U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, whose district includes a portion of Naperville. Casten was a scheduled guest speaker but was unable to attend after the death of his 17-year-old daughter.
Keynote speaker Geneace Williams, who is the city’s first diversity, equity and inclusion manager, said Juneteenth goes beyond just celebrating the anniversary of slavery’s end.
“I challenge each of us to ask ourselves another question, ‘What will I do beyond today?'” she said. “The truth is that is comes down to one clear declaration, we’ve come too far to come back.”
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, said he appreciated the gathering of people who came together and learn about the end of what he calls “a horrible, horrible time in our country’s history.”
“The arc of justice doesn’t bend in giant steps, it bends in small steps, one at a time,” he said. “There is a history of the racial discrimination in Naperville as a sundown town as were most of the towns in this area. We have to remember the unpleasant things about the history because forgetting them is not the right thing to do.
“But it’s important to understand the individual small steps along the way.”
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, said she wouldn’t be standing in front of the audience Saturday were it not for Juneteenth.
“It’s not an important day just for African-Americans, but for every American,” she said. “This is a unifying holiday that signifies Freedom Day in our country.
“As we celebrate 157 years of freedom today, we must all reaffirm our commitment to equity and justice because as we know all too well, racism and the injustices that it creates are not things of the past.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
