Singer Kimberly Brown called up girls from the audience to play tambourine with her band during Juneteenth celebrations in Marshall on Thursday. In spite of the heat, people came out to Justice Park to enjoy music, food, and even a community art project.

MARSHALL — There was a lot to celebrate on Juneteenth, speakers at festivities in Marshall said Thursday.

“Juneteenth is not solely a celebration of when enslaved Africans in Texas were informed that they were finally free in 1865. It is a reminder of the beauty of the Black culture, our accomplishments, the fight in us, the music in us, and our strength,” poet Cassie Williams said at the start of Juneteenth celebrations at Justice Park. “It is a reminder of how far we have come and how far we still need to go, and it represents the importance of preserving and protecting our history.”

The message of the Juneteenth holiday carried through community events in Marshall this week. Along with food and kids’ activities, celebrations on Thursday afternoon included music, poetry and art reflecting on the history and experiences of African Americans.

Singer Kimberly Brown not only performed at Marshall’s Juneteenth event, but also spoke about some of the history of the holiday, and the role of music in protest, and the Civil Rights movement.

Although Juneteenth was only officially made a federal holiday in 2021, Black Americans have been celebrating their freedom since 1866, Brown said. Her concert included songs ranging from “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” to lighthearted songs like “Celebration.”

“It is time to celebrate,” Brown told the audience.

In addition to the music, one of the activities people were taking part in Thursday was a community art project, inspired by artist Alma Thomas. Thomas, who died in 1978, was the first Black woman to have her paintings displayed in the White House, SammyJo Miller told participants. Thomas was best known for her abstract paintings, which included many small areas of color that fit together.

“She did a lot of mosaic-style art,” Miller said.

Miller helped Griffin Olson as he painted a little glue on a large canvas, and used it to stick down pieces of brightly colored tissue paper to add to the “mosaic.”

“What color would you like next?” Miller asked.

“Blue,” Olson said.

Miller said the art project, titled “Happiness,” was made possible with the help of a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council.

Speakers said the joy of Juneteenth also came with reflections on the challenges that Black people still face.

“We’ve come a long way, and yet we have a long way to go,” Brown said. Both Brown and Williams said it was important to keep working for equality and justice.

“We are confronted daily with news of policies and practices that compromise who we say we are as a country,” Williams said. “We must continue to fight, organize, mobilize for the freedoms we hold so dear.”

In her poem “Feeling Free,” Williams shared a long list of both joyous and painful parts of Black history and experience. But at the end, Williams said, “It feels good to be Black and free.”