(VIDEO INCLUDED) NEWS — Del Rio celebrates Juneteenth with food and fellowship

By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times

A small group of local elected officials, business owners, spiritual leaders and ordinary citizens gathered Thursday to observe the Juneteenth holiday with a call to continue working toward “freedom for all.”

The Juneteenth event was held in Sidney Blanks Park, a small green space bordered by
Bridge and De La Rosa Streets and by Gillis Avenue in the San Felipe neighborhood in south Del Rio. Blanks Park was dedicated by the city in 2015 to honor the legacy of Blanks, a native son who played in both the American Football League and the National
Football League.

Blanks played college football for Texas A&M University and “was the first-ever Black
football player in the Lone Star Conference and the first African American player
recruited and signed in the state of Texas,” according to Wikipedia.

The park was a fitting backdrop for the Juneteenth celebration, a

federal holiday that marks the date when Black slaves in Texas were told that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, signed two years earlier. President Joe Biden enacted June 19 as a federal holiday in 2021.

One of Blanks’ nieces, Marsha Butler-Benson, attended the event from her home in San
Antonio, Butler-Benson said she came to assist organizers in making sure the event “was
a joyous occasion for everyone.”

“It’s important for us to keep the younger people informed about what happened years and years ago, why we celebrate Juneteenth. They need to know about it,” Butler-Benson said.

Four members of the Del Rio City Council attended, including Mayor Al Arreola, Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez, Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. and Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez.

Gutierrez told The 830 Times, “It was important for me to be here because we’re celebrating freedom. Back in 1865, when Juneteenth began, the struggles have continued.

Freedom applies to all of us, and freedom isn’t free. People have paid the price, and the
ultimate sacrifice at that, so that we can celebrate the freedoms that we have, even the right to protest, which we’ve seen on the news recently, so I’m here to celebrate freedom.”

Lopez said, “I’ve always been supportive of all good deeds and things that help the community. My wife used to work with Judge Leon ‘Spanky’ Best, and this is a tribute to what Del Rio’s Black community has accomplished. I come to support this also because it’s in San Felipe, and that’s part of our heritage as well.”

Paul Millsaps, pastor of Del Rio’s Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church, served as the master of ceremonies for the event, first leading all those attending in an a cappella rendition of the hymn, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as “the Black national anthem.”

Millsaps next invited Deacon James Bass to lead the group in prayer and called on Arreola to speak to the group.

Arreola welcomed everyone attending the event, and he said he was happy that it was being held in the San Felipe area.

“It’s not the color of your skin. It’s what’s in your heart,” the mayor said, drawing applause, cheers and shouts of “amen” from the audience.
Lopez and Gutierrez then took their turns speaking to those assembled in the park.

Millsaps also honored Del Rio businesswoman Jeanne Roe Slover, owner of Roberts Jewelers. He said Slover made the first contribution to the Val Verde Juneteenth Association last year and that money allowed them to be able to organize the celebration.

“We have one country, one God, and we’re all equal. We are joyous to be here and be
one Del Rio. May God continue to bless Del Rio,” Slover said.

Millsaps then introduced the keynote speaker, Eddie Dillworth of Carrizo Springs, Texas.

Before turning the mic over to Dillworth, Millsaps said, “Racism is real. It has not gone
anywhere. It hid for a little while, but now it’s reared its head pretty big, and as a man of
God, not a politician, I’ll speak to it. I’ll speak the truth to whomever it is, because there
needs to be more speaking truth to power. We need to stand up for our rights. We need to
stand up for immigrants.”

Dillworth gave a brief history of Juneteenth and said the event celebrates “not only the
freedom of the Black community, but the freedom of America.”

He spoke about the important contributions by people of color.
Dillworth said, however, the most important freedom human beings can seek is “freedom
from sin.”

“I’m a preacher, and you’re going to hear some preaching. We don’t have to be slaves to
sin. The only way we can grow as a country is to grow in God. It will not happen without
Jesus Christ in our lives,” Dillworth said.
After the speeches, Millsaps invited everyone to stay for hot dogs, chili and other
refreshments.

The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .