Demand for change: Area Juneteenth events prayerful, reflective, fun

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — People across the area commemorating Juneteenth on Friday evening gathered to pray, to reflect on the state of race relations and to create a safe place to have a little fun.

At Riverscape in downtown Dayton, a prayer vigil and moment of silence were offered for the people killed most recently at the hands of police: George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. Ahmaud Arbery, shot to death by a former police officer in South Georgia, was included in the moment of silence.

“It’s heart breaking what’s going on in our society and to do it today on Juneteenth, which was good collaboration of bringing awareness of where we were and where we are now,” said Otha Lewis, vice chairwoman, Dayton National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, the organization that hosted the downtown Dayton event.

Tanya Wright of Dayton said, “what Juneteenth means is we got our freedom. But there is still work to do as far as in the black community and we still have a lot to do beacause innocent people are losing their lives because of race relations in this country.”

In Englewood, people gathered at Centennial Park to participate in kickball, listen to music and get in a little dancing.

“We wanted to do something for the community to give support and give a safe haven for people to enjoy themselves,” Xavier Marable of Englewood said.

Some expressed hope that Juneteenth someday will become a national holiday.

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