Fort Worth’s Miss Juneteenth is no ordinary beauty pageant. ‘It’s a chance to educate.’

Juneteenth isn’t just about the historical significance for Akeshia Thomas.

The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when word of the Emancipation Proclamation, the order ending slavery in the United States, reached Texas.

The origin of the holiday is exceptionally important to many in the Black community in Fort Worth. But, like Thomas, many say the holiday is just as much a time to celebrate family, community, freedom and empowerment. That’s why Thomas and her business partner, Ny’Quasha Gipson, decided to mark the holiday with the Miss Juneteenth Pageant.

For months, a group of Black girls have been preparing for the competition. From learning dance numbers and practicing talents to participating in community service events and attending classes on topics like financial literacy, the contestants have had packed schedules. The pageant, Saturday at 4 p.m., will accompany an art exhibition.

“We didn’t want it to be your ordinary beauty pageant,” Thomas said. “We knew we had to include some non-traditional concepts, like the financial literacy. It’s a chance to educate, but we also wanted to give these girls in our community a chance to feel special, to feel like they have the freedom to express themselves and feel empowered.”

Gipson said it’s also an opportunity to bring the youth from the community into a celebration of Juneteenth and educate them on its history and importance. She and Thomas both said they didn’t celebrate or even really know much about Juneteenth growing up. Now that it’s a federally recognized holiday, though, they expect it will be easier to raise awareness and see it more widely observed.

“This is a new holiday, nationally speaking, so we have the opportunity to set the standards and create new traditions,” Gipson said. “Being as unaware of Juneteenth as I was growing up, the holiday doesn’t just mean freedom in the sense of an end to slavery. It means freedom in a sense of family and ability to create culture, create traditions, learn together and from each other.”

‘It’s surreal’

For a lot of people, the observation of Juneteenth is new. For others, it’s a tradition they’ve celebrated their whole lives.

Odell Walton, 77, and Gladys “Granny” McBride, 82, have always thought of June 19 at Juneteenth.

The two women were part of the Como Juneteenth Art Expo on June 3. For a year, they’ve been attending art classes at the Como Community Center. Everything they’ve made in their classes was saved by their art teacher and put on display for members of the community to admire.

Walton even sold one of her pieces at the show.

For both women, the event is special because they get to show off the artwork they’ve made. But more than that, they said being a part of the Juneteenth celebration is an honor.

“It’s surreal,” McBride said. “Being a part of the Juneteenth celebration, being able to contribute to this celebration of freedom, a celebration of our culture, that’s special.”

She’s proud of the Lake Como community she calls home, and having an event that celebrates her work. At the art show, she wore all purple and yellow, with a Como T-shirt, a bedazzled purple ball cap, purple pants and large amber earrings.

Walton said the inclusion of her artwork highlights the struggles and victories of the Black community in her lifetime. Growing up, Walton and McBride didn’t have opportunities to take art classes. Now, they’re learning new forms of art every week from pressing flowers to painting to working with clay.

“We can show our art in our community,” Walton said.

‘She’s our inspiration’

Art is also at the intersection of the new Miss Juneteenth pageant.

Ten girls ages 6 to 12 will take the stage June 19 to perform their talents and compete in the pageant.

On Wednesday, the girls and pageant organizers went to West Side Campus of Care in White Settlement, where they made tribal-inspired masks with seniors living in the facility. The masks will be the centerpiece at an art show alongside the pageant.

Thomas and Gipson started their Juneteenth celebrations last year with just an art show. The Commem-ART-ration show was curated to highlight art that spoke to the culture, history, present and future for the Black community in Fort Worth.

The fact that Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for her pioneering work to make it recognized as a federal holiday, is from Fort Worth makes events celebrating or observing the holiday that much more important, they said.

“She came from where we are, and what she’s done as shown us what we can do,” Thomas said. “She’s our inspiration.”

Gipson said that while the pageant is starting off small, they hope it will grow and that Lee will attend at some point.

“A hometown girl made this happen,” Gipson said. “One of our ultimate goals is for her to come and see the pageant. See how we’re benefiting from everything she did. How we’re honoring the history of June 19 and who we are today as a community and what it took to get here.”

This year, though, the highlight will be the pageant. The 10 girls will compete for a title, but also for a $500 scholarship. They’ll showcase their talents, do a Q&A related to Juneteenth and wearing evening gowns. Thomas and Gipson hope the event will be a fun way to engage and educate the community.

Just as important, the organizers said, is giving the contestants an opportunity to explore potentially new forms of self expression and get a boost to their self esteem.