Akron Urban League kicks off Juneteenth weekend with Friday 'vax and vote' party

Euna Tolbert was enjoying her time on a warm, sunny Friday afternoon with her grandchildren in tow.

They were walking around outside the Akron Urban League off of Vernon Odom Boulevard, where the organization was holding its free Juneteenth celebration with music, food, games for children, vendors and places where people could register to vote and get vaccinated for COVID-19. Among the organizations there were representatives from the Akron Fire Department and the Akron Police Department who talked with event-goers. Akron K-9 officer Midnite made an appearance.

Tolbert said she came to the event, officially called the Juneteenth Vax and Vote Blitz, because she likes to support the organization. And she wanted her grandchildren to know more about Juneteenth, the new federal holiday that celebrates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans on June 19, 1865.

Juneteenth an opportunity to teach

"Yes, it's a celebration of freedom. But right now it's an opportunity to teach our children that people fought for their freedom," said Tolbert, who is retired after 21 years in the U.S. Army and lives near Firestone High School.

"I like that the Urban League gets involved with the community," Tolbert said.

Friday's Juneteenth event ran from 1:30 to 4:30.

Cynthia Bell, a retired registered nurse who lives in North Akron, was doing blood pressure screenings and helping register people to vote. She is a member of the National Black Nurses Association, which she said got its start 50 years ago with the help of Cleveland and Akron nurses. She said it was important to have health care services at the Urban League's event.

"We have to take things to the community and not wait for them to come to us," Bell said. The Urban League's Juneteenth program "is a great event for the community," she said.

Urban League event provides resources

Friday's Juneteenth event was important in helping people get more comfortable being out and about after many have been secluded because of the pandemic, she said. It's hard for some people to get back out, she said.

Many people are struggling, including with mental health issues, and they need to know they have access to resources – and the Juneteenth event is one such place where people could learn of those resources and services, Bell said.

Don Baker II, a 25-year-old Cuyahoga Falls resident, was among the students from the Beyond Expectations Barber College, on Romig Road in Akron, providing free haircuts at the Urban League.

"We want to do this and give back to the community," said Baker, who will graduate from the barber school in November.

Andre Spidell, 54, was getting his facial hair trimmed by Baker. He lives in the Sherbondy Hill neighborhood and works with DJ EZ Money who provided music at the Urban League. Spidell also has worked as a DJ using the name Big Dre.

"This is a great event," Spidell said. "I think it's beautiful, much needed, especially during these times."

He said it was good to see the Juneteenth celebration.

‘We celebrate (Juneteenth) as Freedom Day’

Teresa LeGrair, the Akron Urban League president and chief executive officer, got her second COVID booster shot from the mobile clinic that set up at the Juneteenth event. The mobile clinic not only provided vaccinations but was also there to teach people about the vaccines and correct any misinformation they may have heard, she said. The Ohio Department of Health co-sponsored Friday's event.

"We want to support and educate the community and make them aware of the facts," LeGrair said.

This was the league's first outdoor event since the pandemic started in 2020 and she said she was thrilled by the turnout and show of community support.

The Urban League decided to host its Juneteenth event on Friday to help kick off other community events over the weekend.

"There are so many people who really don't know what Juneteenth is or that it was a thing," LeGrair said. "It's awareness for the community to know another piece of Black history. We celebrate it as Freedom Day."

Reporter Jim Mackinnon is working out of the Beacon Journal's new mobile newsroom through June 24 at the Odom Boulevard library branch in Akron's Sherbondy Hill neighborhood. He can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Urban League kicks off Juneteenth weekend with Friday party