President Preckwinkle kicks-off 8th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Sand Ridge Nature Center
Cook County Board and Forest Preserves President Toni Preckwinkle was joined by Forest Preserves General Superintendent Arnold Randall, Commissioner Stanley Moore, Commissioner Donna Miller, Commissioner Brandon Johnson, Commissioner Frank Aguilar, Calumet City Mayor and State Representative Thaddeus Jones, Calumet City Alderman Ramonde Williams and Calumet City Alderman DeJuan Gardner on Saturday, June 19, for the opening ceremony of the 8th annual Juneteenth Celebration at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland.
The opening ceremony concluded with local residents leading attendees with the singing of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’
During the event, the public enjoyed self-guided walks, artmaking projects, exhibit-style displays, games and bird walks, as well as storytelling, history-based presentations and an interactive dance program.
Last December, Juneteenth was unanimously approved as a recognized Cook County holiday by President Preckwinkle and the County Board by ordinance chiefly sponsored by Commissioners Stanley Moore and Dennis Deer.
This year’s celebration marks the first under this new status.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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