Germantown Juneteenth festival draws thousands

Robin Hill, 65, a Germantown resident, said Juneteenth celebrations are an important way of teaching vital history to younger generations.

“I’m glad to see a lot of young people out here, because we were kind of taught our history by our parents and grandparents, even though we didn’t really learn it in school, but these children really aren’t learning anything about their culture,” Hill said. “And now with the current administration, a lot of things are being stripped away from our culture, so things like this are extremely important.”

Jacqueline Wimbush, 68, a resident of West Oak Lane who grew up down the street from Hill, agreed. She said Trump’s effort to remove the exhibit at the President’s House is a “hateful act.”

“When those things happen, we have to make sure that our children know from the community, from their support groups, their churches, their community centers, their parents, what the history is and why it’s so important,” she said.

Wimbush expressed hope that whoever is president after Trump will reverse that decision.

“If not, we’ll celebrate our own history and continue passing our history on to our children and whoever else is interested,” she said.