President's Page: Join Together For Juneteenth

At Monday's council meeting, Madison Court Community Coalition (MC3) volunteers were recognized for their work. MC3 will kick-off their fifth season of block parties with a Juneteenth celebration Saturday, June 21st from 4-6pm at Madison Park. 

Happy Juneteenth Neighbors!

At Monday night’s Council meeting Councilwoman Hamilton Steiner and I introduced Resolution 2025-29 to honor Juneteenth National Independence Day and spread awareness of its significance. Juneteenth, which can also be called Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day or the Second Independence Day, became a federal holiday in 2021. It marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, the date on which federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed the last of the enslaved people that they were free. This occurred two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, and now, at a time when some in our federal government are trying to erase parts of our shared American history, it is particularly meaningful for us to come together as a community in our observance of Juneteenth. 

There are two great opportunities for us all to celebrate Juneteenth right here in Lakewood. The first, hosted by the Lakewood Black Caucus, is on Juneteenth itself, and will be held from 1-4pm at the Lakewood Presbyterian Church, 14502 Detroit Avenue. The second is this Saturday, June 21st from 4-6pm at Madison Park and is the first in a series of annual summer “block parties” presented by Madison Court Community Coalition and Lakewood Outdoor Basketball Committee. Both Juneteenth events are free to the public and will include food and family activities. Thank you to our neighbors in both groups who volunteer their time, talent and treasure to make these community driven events possible. 

At Monday’s council meeting we also recognized Madison Court Community Coalition (MC3), now kicking off their fifth year of community building, resource sharing, and advocacy. MC3 was formed in response to an incident of gun violence at Madison Park in 2021. Since then, MC3 has sustained a positive, proactive presence at the park, improving the safety and usability of the park for neighbors and visitors city-wide. Our neighbors volunteering with MC3 will be collecting new and gently used school supplies at both the Juneteenth and July 26th block parties for distribution for the August 16th block party. To learn more about MC3 events or to volunteer, follow them on Facebook or Instagram, or come to the party Saturday!

If I don’t see you at either Juneteenth event, I hope to see you at one of our upcoming Council Community Conversations. In my first year as Council President last year we started this tradition of holding town-hall type meetings to chat with residents in familiar neighborhood spaces and foster the type of open, organic dialogue that can be difficult to achieve within the formal setting of a Council meeting. While specific focus of each conversation will center around topics of particular interest to residents of that specific ward, all members of the community are welcome at any and all of the conversations. 

Council Community Conversations:

Ward 4 – June 24, 7:00pm @ Cove Community Center 

Ward 1 – July 2, 6:00pm @ Lakewood YMCA 

Ward 2 - July 22, 6:00pm @ Lakewood Public Library Main Branch 

Ward 3 – August 12, 6:00pm @ Lakewood Park Women’s Club Pavilion 

Upcoming Council Meetings:

June 23

6:00pm Housing, Planning & Development Committee

7:00pm Joint Meeting of the Animal Safety & Welfare Advisory Board and the Public Safety Committee

June 30

6:30pm Joint Meeting of Planning Commission & Committee of the Whole

Sign up for our email list to receive agendas for upcoming meetings, livestream meetings or watch past meetings, and learn more about Council on our webpage: https://www.lakewoodoh.gov/lakewood-city-council/