Fort Collins hosted its second annual Juneteenth Celebration this past weekend. The scheduled events lasted for three days from Friday, June 16 to Sunday, June 18 focusing on celebrating and uplifting Black culture and community in the Fort Collins area.

Only recognized as a state holiday in May of 2022 by the State of Colorado, Juneteenth celebrates the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, with the arrival of Union troops. Because of the refusal of many southern slave owners to adhere to the Proclamation without the direct intervention of Union troops, the enslaved Black people of Galveston were finally freed more than two years after the Proclamation was first issued by Abraham Lincoln.

Fort Collins celebrated the holiday with evening events at the Foothills Mall and the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Collins Friday Night followed by all-day events at the Foothills Mall Saturday and all-day events at the Colorado State University Lagoon Sunday.

“Rarely do we celebrate Black joy, Black liberation and by rarely I mean we don’t and that’s what makes this holiday so important.” Rahshida Perez, the vendor planning committee lead for the event and the Interim Director for the BIPOC Alliance said. “During Black History Month we have that short month and in that time we have to do so much education and it’s so much work on the Black and Brown people to do that education for other folks. Juneteenth really is about celebrating us and it’s an opportunity for us to enjoy ourselves.”

The celebration Saturday took over the entire outdoor space of the Foothills Mall as well as a large section of the mall’s indoor event space.

“Obviously you don’t have a huge minority population here but when the city tries to reach out and does stuff like this it brings everybody together so it’s a win-win for everybody. That’s what I’d like to see here in Fort Collins is them continue to reach out and include everybody in this whole community process.” -William Bell, owner of apparel company SIC970. 

Saturday’s schedule was packed with a diverse smattering of events celebrating Black culture through physical activities like the Poetic Flow Yoga session led by Tyrone Beverely and other black Yogi or the AfroBeats Dance Fitness class run by Tia Thompson which got the crowd up and moving with an energetic dance exercise class to the sounds of AfroBeats. As well as the signature attraction to Saturday’s celebration, the BIPOC vendors market where Black and Brown-owned Colorado businesses could promote their work and goods with the Fort Collins community.

“I feel like (the Juneteenth celebration) really is a place to celebrate as black people and get in touch with community.” Trecia Smith, an independent art vendor at the BIPOC vendors market said. “Just setting up this morning. The vibes, the music- everybody was having a good time. That’s really what it is for me is forming community- being able to find community, especially as a person that is a transplant.”

The market was bustling with people interested in the different clothing and art and businesses on display.

“I’m glad to see Fort Collins is diversifying itself.” said William Bell, owner of the apparel company SIC970, which he founded in Fort Collins ten years ago. The company promotes certain social causes he feels are important, like anti-racism, the environment, world peace and the empowerment of women and girls. “Obviously you don’t have a huge minority population here but when the city tries to reach out and does stuff like this it brings everybody together so it’s a win-win for everybody. That’s what I’d like to see here in Fort Collins is them continue to reach out and include everybody in this whole community process.”

Bell also said he was happy to be able to take part in a celebration that meshes so well with the positive social focus of his company.

One of the goals of the event was to create opportunities for others to engage with and understand the Black culture, Duan Ruff, the Director of the Black African American Culture Center at CSU and a member of the event planning committee said. He explained that knowledge and experience with a culture that was not your own was one of the biggest ways to break down barriers and create connections and community, he said.

The more members of the community can immerse themselves in different cultures the more we as a community learn about each other and can come together and support each other, Ruff said.

This was an idea echoed by at least one member of the community who came to Saturday’s festivities.

Shannon Woods said her daughter is at the Foothills Mall every weekend for School of Rock but when she saw the signs for the event and heard the music coming from the plaza Saturday she thought it would be a cool thing to expose her daughter to.

“Teaching her about diversity,” Woods said, referencing her daughter. “That’s kind of why we moved out here from New York. For better community and for an area that actually seems to tolerate diversity more than where we were from.”

Reach Grant Coursey at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @GrantCoursey.