AUSTIN, Texas — As the smell of smoky barbecue and booming music filled the air, the people of Austin gathered into a parking garage to celebrate Juneteenth with each other.
Travis County hosted its 37th annual Juneteenth celebration on Thursday, featuring live music, guest speakers and food sold by various Travis County departments. This year’s theme was “Unity and Freedom,” chosen to reflect the importance of community, progress and the history of emancipation, according to the county’s announcement.
The celebration also featured a performance of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as well as informational booths run by departments such as the Travis County Veterans Services and the Travis County Historical Commission.
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Vendors at the Travis County Juneteenth Celebration (Photo credits: Jennifer Wang)
“It is an opportunity for us all to talk about the services we can provide, and how we provide them, how you can find us,” Jeffrey Travillion, the Travis County commissioner of Precinct 1, said.
Entry was free and open to the public. Travillion said the annual event was a way for the community to remember their history and culture.
“In a time when the federal government has turned its back on a number of citizens, and the state government has underfunded public education, public health and access to resources for families, we remember that we have always had to fight for resources for our families, from the very beginning,” he said.
“We look at the day as a sacred day, an opportunity for family and friends, and to remember our history, and to remember we have to build a more perfect union,” Travillion said. “It won’t make itself.”