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Six neighboring families in the Wildhern Lane neighborhood in Southfield put on their own community Juneteenth event each year.
Photo provided by Ledell Griffin
SOUTHFIELD — Six neighboring families in Southfield have organized a neighborhood-wide Juneteenth celebration that has become a tradition.
For the past five years, six neighboring families in the neighborhood at Wildhern Lane, near 12 Mile and Evergreen roads, have come together to organize a Juneteenth celebration. The event takes place in the front and back yards of the six neighboring houses. This year’s event will take place on the evening of June 20.
Patricia Jones, one of the organizers, said the event started as a way to alleviate post-COVID “cabin fever.” That first year, the six families celebrated Juneteenth in their own yards and interacted over their fences.
Jones said the event is a way to celebrate culture and bring the neighborhood together.
“It’s culturally bringing us together and celebrating what our ancestors went through to gain their freedom, and how that still reflects on our everyday lives,” she said. “We celebrate each other, our culture and our community.”
The celebration includes dinner, yard games, dancing and music. The event concludes at 9:30 p.m. with a fireworks display put on by Ledell Griffin, another organizer.
Griffin said the event has grown a lot over the years. What started as something between six neighbors has grown into an event that sees people from different states attending.
In addition to the dinner and games, the event always begins with a reading about the history and meaning of Juneteenth.
“It’s not just a regular holiday,” Griffin said. “It’s actually an Independence Day for the African American community.”
Approximately 100 people are expected to attend.
