SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Cook County held a Juneteenth celebration in South Holland with educational activities.
The county’s Juneteenth event took place at the Sand Ridge Nature Center. County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was among the speakers at the celebration.
"Today we commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. We honor the women, the men, and children who endured or perished under this racist, cruel, and immoral institution-those who escaped slavery and those who fought to end this period in our country's history," she stated.
Commissioner Stanley Moore said the county was a Juneteenth trailblazer becoming the first to make it a paid holiday.
"Our goal at the time was to encourage the state and the city and the federal government to do the same. That process came to fruition."
This celebration included an Underground Railroad walk where people learned the story of one man’s journey from St. Louis to Canada, a story trail and assistance with tracing ancestry.
"The south suburbs is so rich in history as evidenced by the many points in the underground railroad in and around Cook County forest preserves and here in the south land," said Commissioner Donna Miller.
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