A Northwest Side community group is asking city officials to reschedule a rally and community policing fundraiser scheduled for Wednesday, which also happens to be Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
T-shirts and signs branded with the sayings, “Support your Local Police” and “We Support Our Police” will be sold to benefit the Jefferson Park District community policing program at the event Wednesday at the district police station and sponsored by local aldermen, according to an announcement about the event. But because of the city’s “struggle with racial equality and justice,” members of the Northwest Side Coalition Against Racism and Hate said the event should be rescheduled out of respect for those celebrating Juneteenth.
“One simple step towards healing, in the City of Chicago, would be for Northwest Side communities and the 16th police district to specifically recognize and respect Juneteenth Day, on June 19, 2019, as a national and state day of observation to celebrate civil rights,” the group said in a letter to officials.
The group sent the letter last week to Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st, Ald. James Gardiner, 45th, and Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 38th, who are co-sponsoring the event. Karie James, a spokeswoman for the Chicago police, said the event was going on as scheduled as of Monday afternoon. Napolitano’s office could not immediately confirm information about the event.
“We want to encourage our aldermen to be cognizant of the time and place they choose to hold events and thoughtful of the whole city and country,” said Shawna Bowman, a member of coalition.
“It’s our position there is clearly a lot of work for us to do in the city particularly with the police and justice system.”
On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War was over and they were free. The holiday is recognized in 47 states, including Illinois.
In a follow-up email to aldermen, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson sent Monday, the group urged officials that if the event is not rescheduled, they consider describing the meaning of Juneteenth at the fundraiser and asking supporters and police officers to pledge their commitment to “honor the civil rights of all Chicago residents, especially People of Color.”
The group was formed by area residents in response to an incident in July 2018 when a video surfaced showing a man accosting a woman, who was setting up for a party in the Caldwell Woods picnic shelter, and demanding to know why she was wearing a Puerto Rico shirt.
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