Milwaukee's first Juneteenth Day celebrated community's 'vitality,' despite the rain

For Milwaukee's first Juneteenth celebration, it rained.

But it didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm for marking the date in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas — the last remaining slaves in the South — were told the Civil War was over and they were free, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

While June 19 had been celebrated as Juneteenth or Jubilee Day in cities in the South for years, the June 19, 1972, event in Milwaukee was the first time such a community celebration had taken place in a northern city.

So what was a little rain?

"A few umbrellas began to sprout up from the crowd. But most people remained oblivious to the showers, drank beer and continued to enjoy the music … ," Wanda L. Bryant wrote in a story in The Milwaukee Journal on June 20, 1972.

"One youngster darting through the exhibits with a friend said: 'I don't care if it is raining. My mother said I could stay until 10 o'clock.'"

That first Juneteenth event was the result of a meeting at Northcott Neighborhood House the year before.

"We were wondering if there was anything we could do that the entire Black community would enjoy," Jan Kemp, co-coordinator of the 1972 Juneteenth event, told The Journal at that first festival. "Someone remembered a Southern festival called Jubilee Day, and thus the idea was born."

In a June 16, 1988, story in The Journal, Marvin Hannah, who had been Northcott's executive director in 1972, said another impetus for that first Juneteenth was to remind Milwaukee and its Black community of what they had.

"People were thinking there was decay on Third Street (now King Drive) and that the inner city wasn't working out very well," Hannah remembered. " I knew there was still a lot of vitality in the community."

In the 1988 story, Cole remembered that Northcott in 1972 had "only about $50 in petty cash" to fund the event. But musicians and other artists came through. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. even donated beer for the festival, which spanned two blocks of what is now King Drive from North Avenue to Wright Street with food, art, music, cultural activities and more.

"By the time of the festival, a number of (musicians) were happy to perform, even though nobody would get paid," Cole told The Journal in 1988.

"God blessed us with a beautiful day," Cole remembered, "even with the rain."

The rain started shortly after the festival started, chasing away some of the crowds. But the skies cleared a few hours later and people came back. The inaugural 12-hour Juneteenth festival was attended by more than 3,000 people, organizers estimated.

After that first year, Northcott's Juneteenth celebration grew. By 1974, Journal columnist Edward H. Blackwell wrote, more than 10,000 people joined in the festivities. The following year, a parade was added to the proceedings.

By the mid-1980s, the festival was attracting more than 100,000 people, according to organizer estimates.

Later, the festival was moved north on King Drive. The 2024 Juneteenth celebration stretches from Keefe Avenue to Center Street, with additional activities in Rose Park at King Drive and Burleigh Street. This year's parade starts at 9 a.m. June 19, heading south on Atkinson Avenue south of Capitol Drive, continuing on King Drive south to Locust Street. (For details, go to juneteenthmilwaukee.com.)

While the 2024 event is a lot bigger than Milwaukee's first Juneteenth celebration, the sense of community at the heart of the event is the same as it was in 1972.

At the 1972 Juneteenth, The Journal's Bryant watched a local radio announcer introduce the day's musical performers. "At one point," she wrote, "he looked out to the crowd and said: 'Everybody turn around and shake hands with your neighbor. This is a Black people's celebration.'"

"The crowd obeyed," Bryant wrote.

What is From the Archives?

Each week, From the Archives dips into the files of The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to retell stories about memorable places, people and moments from years past. The stories will often include an array of additional photos online.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'I don't care if it is raining': Milwaukee's first Juneteenth Day