Sikeston hosts third annual Juneteenth Celebration

SIKESTON, Mo. (KBSI) – Jasmine Sales, one of the organizers of Sikeston’s third annual Juneteenth Celebration, described what this holiday means to her. 

“Juneteenth means that I have excellence inside of me,” she said. “Juneteenth means that I have freedom inside of me. Juneteenth means that I can be whatever I want to be.” 

And so, it is more than a party. 

“It’s continuing to grow,” Juneteenth Committee Chairperson Taneshia Pulley said. “People are being aware of what Juneteenth means and the importance of it.” 

Pulley attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., where she participated in Juneteenth celebrations years before it became a federal holiday. 

“Going to an HBCU where it is predominately black, and you’re learning about our history, I was just dumbfounded and so excited to know this is another part of history that we should be celebrating,” she said.

And now Sikeston and communities around the country do just that: celebrate freedom. 

“Whenever we get together, it reminds us where our ancestors came from, everything they went through to get us to where we are today,” Sales said.

Sales said Juneteenth is also a celebration of individuality. 

“Everybody can come out here and be who you are,” she said. “Don’t try to be like this person, don’t try to be like that; you be excellence, be free, be yourself, be you.” 

The city’s Juneteenth Celebration continues on Sunday with a gospel explosion at 3 pm in Lincoln Park.