Previously wounded twice in battle with the 29^th U.S. Colored Infantry of Illinois, Nathan Hughes, born in enslavement, was still on-hand to witness Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865.

Passing away in 1910, Hughes was also able to witness his grandchildren become the first Black students to graduate high school in Kendall County.

The Kendall County of today would likely be unrecognizable to Hughes, but Jamal Williams, organizer of the annual Juneteenth in Kendall County event said educational awareness and an inspired community is still needed to bridge the divisions that remain.

The sixth annual fest showcases a host of cultural family-fun events, organizers say are “a celebration of love and education.” The event features live music, dancing performances and food trucks.

The main event is 4-8 p.m. on June 19 at the Congregation United Church of Christ in Yorkville.

Like the educational discussion about Hughes by the Yorkville Preservation Society, the events are designed to connect the community with luminaries of the past while shining a path into the future.

The event is free and all members of the community are welcome to join the festivities.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating when news of the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery finally reached those still enslaved in Texas on June 19, 1865.

Williams said with each successive Juneteenth festivity they try to “broaden out horizons” further into Kendall County. This year features an additional event in Oswego, and while a planned march in Plano did not materialize, Williams hopes to build grassroots support for one heading into next year.

“We want to bring awareness to the struggles African Americans went through as it relates to overcoming slavery, but also in 2026, we still see evidence of needing to do more to create a positive environment for everybody,” Williams said. “The festivities show us coming together as a community, it showcases our talents, and provides an opportunity to share our history.”

Williams said part of what makes the event special is bringing people together of different cultures to help inspire the eradication of “the racism we still experience” in every community.

After the opening ceremony, there will performances by Girls Like Us, the Yorkville Step Team, and the 40 + Double Dutch Club. Children’s activities, include face painting and a bounce house. There is also resource tables of local non-profits and educational discussions by community leaders, including the Yorkville Public Library.

The night culminates with line dancing hosted by Lines ‘N Motion featuring Belynda Head.

The Juneteenth celebration was hosted for its first four years in Plano before finding a new home in Yorkville after the city of Plano abruptly cancelled the planned Juneteenth Celebration in 2025 after some alleged community pushback.

Williams is a former Plano alderman. He previously said each event is about “planting positive seeds” across the county.

“The only way we can move forward as a group is to understand the past,” Williams previously said. “If you can understand where racism came from, you can better observe it and overcome it. Trying to acknowledge it never happened or just pointing the finger only keeps us fighting back and forth.”

Also scheduled during the events is a Financial Literacy Workshop with financial speaker, Tish Griffin, from 2-4 p.m. The free workshop is hosted by the economic empowerment committee at the Yorkville Congregation United Church of Christ.

On June 20, the Juneteenth planning committee is hosting a Swing Golf Outing from 3-6 p.m. at Whitetail Ridge Golf Dome in Oswego. During the event, guests can network with other community members.

During the Civil War, 1,251 Kendall County soldiers fought for the Union. One in 10 county residents served, with 247 men dying during their service.

The Kendall County Record newspaper was founded in 1864 by John Redman Marshall who served the Union for two years, including at the battle of Antietam.

Anti-slavery roots ran deep in the community, with abolitionist sermons being held at Yorkville’s Chapel on the Green, which was also part of the Underground Railroad.

Building momentum for next year’s Plano march

Williams said the group is trying to build momentum for enough people to join next year’s Opal Lee Freedom March from Plano City Hall to the Blue Line Kitchen & Bar in Plano.

The 2.5 mile walk signifies the 2.5 years it took for enslaved African Americans in Texas to hear of their emancipation after President Abraham Lincoln’s speech.

The tradition was founded by civil rights activist Opal Lee, known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth, who campaigned for decades to make it a federally recognized holiday. Lee marched 2.5 miles in cities all across the nation before President Joe Biden signed Juneteenth into law as an official holiday in 2021.

Williams said holding a march in Plano, the city where the festival was canceled in 2025, is crucial to continue Lee’s legacy by demonstrating to the entire county “the strength of each individual and how you can make positive changes in the world.”