Aurora Car Parade To Mark Juneteenth, Continue Push For Justice

AURORA, IL — An Aurora native is set to lead a parade of cars across the city Friday to commemorate Juneteenth, with the annual event hosted by the city and local groups called off due to the coronavirus. The parade will start at 5 p.m. at the Aurora Police Department and drive through downtown before returning to the city’s east side, said Sharina Hill, who is organizing the parade.

Hill, who now lives in Naperville, said she decided to decorate her car and parade through to celebrate Juneteenth and has been using Facebook to get others involved.

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Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day or Freedom Day, is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the U.S. Though the holiday has long been “poorly understood” outside the Black community, Hill said she is pleased to see “so many people recognizing the independence of our ancestors more now than ever.”

"For so long, the fourth day of July has been celebrated so broadly," Hill said. "Commemorating the holiday (Juneteenth) could bring America closer to truly embracing its ideals of freedom and equality for all."

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The holiday is meant to celebrate the end of slavery, but it also serves as "a reminder of our fight for equity and freedom," Hill said.

"I think that Juneteenth is a necessary moment of observation because our government, our nation and our culture has not really acknowledged the trauma of 4 million enslaved people and their descendants," Hill said. "It hasn’t acknowledged the effect this institution has had on this country and continues to have on this country."

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After weeks of nationwide protests calling for police reform, starting the parade at the Aurora Police Department "is definitely a way to show APD that the people are in fact still unifying," Hill said. But it’s not meant to provoke any confrontation with officers, she said, welcoming them to join and provide traffic control.

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Intended parade route:

• Meet at the Aurora Police Department at 4:30 p.m., depart at 5 p.m.
• Head west on Indian Trial Road
• Turn left onto Lake Street
• Turn left onto New York Street
• Through downtown
• East on New York Street
• Left onto Route 59 (at the Fox Valley Mall)
• Left onto Aurora Road/Indian Trail Road
• End at the Aurora Police Department