HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — On Saturday, several Huntsville groups celebrated Juneteenth, but with civic engagement in mind. Local leaders hosted the inaugural 'Welcome to the Family Cookout' at Campus 805.
"This is what good citizenship, loving thy neighbor looks like. It's all about believing, and understanding. We are super grateful, and we just want to say thank you," says Reverend Frederick Whitlow, II, Founder and Executive Director of 'No More Dirty, Inc'.
Whitlow teamed up with several organizations at Campus 805 to celebrate Juneteenth.
Dr. Tonya Perry, Chairperson of the newly formed 'Coalition for Justice Through Civic Engagement' says this was an opportunity to register people to vote, and encourage people to complete the U.S. Census.
"We're still working to perfect this union that we have. There's so many issues, but we have to raise our voices to influence change and clearly things need to change and so that's why we're here," says Perry.
Organizers say their goal is to also bring communities across Huntsville together.
"We wanted to bring the North side and the South side together. We wanted the city to not have two different cultures," says Robert Lewis with The Community Leadership Collective.
The event included a diverse group of panelists discussing activism in the community, as well as diverse DJs. "For anything to change, it has to be the whole community, not one certain group," added Aaron Hoffman aka DJ A-Twist.
Another organizer says to bring an end to police brutality locals have to work together.
"We want it eradicated period. We don't want to see it happen to any race, and the only way to do that is to put chairs at the dinner table and to say everyone is allowed to sit down and eat," says Angelo Bland with The Community Leadership Collective.
The Juneteenth celebration continues on Sunday June 21st at Big Spring Park with a 'Love Thy Neighbor' event at 3 p.m.