Community honors resident who brought Juneteenth celebration to Milan

MILAN, Tenn. — Residents of Milan are honoring a former community member who brought the Juneteenth celebration to their hometown.

“Juneteenth is about the freedom of the slaves in Texas. Two years late, they found out they were free,” said Tammy Wade, Milan Alderman.

Wade shares that this day originated in Galveston, Texas.

During Wednesday’s celebration she also honored Marguerite Louise Smith who brought the celebration to Milan.

“So she started this– we had big parades, she got with our mayor at the time, Mayor Herb Davis, and she developed this organized it and she did this every year and made sure it happened until her health failed her,” said Wade.

At the celebration there were vendors selling soaps, clothes, and many other items.

Carla Somerville, with J&J Beez and Honey, shares the importance of being representation for others.

“Being out here for Juneteenth it just represents a lot for our African American history so I think it’s very important that we support events like this and pass that on to the younger generations so they know the importance of Juneteenth,” said Somerville.

Somerville says that having a booth helps her educate others on the importance of bees.

“We raise bees and we sell the honey and we make other products from honey like honey butter. So we also always bring bees to events like this so the young people can see beekeepers and why bees are important. Because if we don’t have pollination we don’t have a food source,” said Somerville.

Wade shared that Marguerite Louise Smith will receive a resolution and proclamation for her contributions to Milan’s Juneteenth celebration.

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