Photo by Jessica Stewart / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Try’shon Page, 5, right, performs Saturday afternoon in the Juneteenth parade with the Zodiac drill team. The group, just recently started, is made up of children from the Midtown community.

Ramadhan Washington hung out the open window of a bright blue Chevrolet truck, waving and talking as he rode down Noyes Boulevard with a trail of dancers, drummers, horses and elected officials following him like baby ducks.

The cavalcade disbanded when it reached John Lucas Park, and that’s when Saturday’s segment of Juneteenth really began.

“It’s a socialization process for African-Americans,” said Mr. Washington, chairman of the Juneteenth steering committee, about the Juneteenth celebration. “We can come together and showcase what we’re all about — our accomplishments, our achievements.”

The parade — complete with two drill teams and a motorcade featuring Martin Rucker, an inductee into the Black Archives Hall of Fame — was just one event in St. Joseph’s 14th annual Juneteenth celebration. It’s a weekend dedicated to promoting unity and celebrating the end of slavery 143 years before.

Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated around the country, sometimes in just a few days and sometimes spread out into a month of observance. Nicole Thomas, chairperson of the Atchison, Kan., Juneteenth committee, was on hand to see how St. Joseph residents celebrated. Atchison will hold its third annual celebration next weekend.

“It’s not a black thing. That’s what we’re trying to make our Atchison people understand,” Ms. Thomas said. “It’s all races come together to unite with celebrating freedom.”

Among the activities at John Lucas Park were food, music, dance performances and informational booths. Marguerite Spencer, prison project coordinator for the Missouri NAACP, spent the afternoon at a voter registration table. She said NAACP chapters around the country are holding similar events in an effort to register as many voters as possible.

“There’s so much excitement about the election everywhere you go,” she said.

Ms. Spencer also talked to citizens about different NAACP programs and issues.

“They’re reactivating the (NAACP) branch in St. Joe, so we’re also signing up members for that,” Ms. Spencer said.

Helen Washington, Juneteenth steering committee member, said the turnout for the different events has been high so far.

“Friday nights are good, but it was exceptionally good last night,” she said.

Ms. Washington said the event carries over into today with a community picnic from 1 to 4 p.m. Lewis Duiguid, Kansas City Star columnist and author, will also be available for a book signing.