It’s Juneteenth, Y’all

Starsky could smell barbecue the moment he got out of the car. There was a party atmosphere in the park, balloons tied to trees and a gospel choir singing on a small stage at the far end.

Between the stage and the parking lot, which was rapidly filling with cars even in the few seconds since Starsky and Hutch had arrived, the park was crammed with people.

“I thought Mrs. Walters said this was a small celebration for some friends,” Hutch marveled, hefting a bowl of fruit salad for the potluck.

“Huggy!” Starsky caught sight of their friend in the crowd. “This is why you closed the bar on a Thursday?”

Huggy sauntered over, taking a drag on his cigarette before pinching the end and tucking it into the pocket of his jeans jacket.

It didn’t take a seasoned cop to recognize the smell of weed, but Starsky wasn’t about to arrest one of his best friends.

“It’s Juneteeth, y’all!” Huggy declared, waving his hands at the gathering. “Biggest celebration for Black folk in the U ess of A.”

“And,” Cora Lee bustled over to take the bowl Hutch held out, “before you ask—”

“What’s Juneteenth?” Hutch replied with a teasing glint in his eye.

“It’s only become the first Black holiday ever.” She admired the salad. “You took my advice, Hutch, and mostly used red fruits.”

“This isn’t a Federal holiday,” Starsky said. “Or I’d take a shift, to get the extra pay.”

“Nah, but I do believe this will be, someday.” Huggy tapped the side of his nose wisely. “Just this year, in the whole new decade of the eighties, Texas made Juneteenth a state holiday.”

“Rather have them honor Dr. King with a holiday, God rest his soul,” Mrs. Walters fumed, pushing aside a vat of potato salad to make room for the fruit salad on the heavily laden picnic table. “But we’re taking what we can get and moving forward.”

Starsky was already salivating at the wide array of food, including a cake he was sure Mrs. Walters had baked. “Don’t be mad, Mrs. W, but can I have a slice of cake first? To tide me over until lunch?”

She laughed, catching sight of more familiar friends. “Just you wait, David, until the preacher says some prayers. I can see him over there with your Captain Dobey and his missus. Then you can eat whatever your heart desires.”

“He’s a growing boy.” Hutch patted his partner’s belly with a huge grin. “But what exactly are we celebrating?”

“I know that one!” Rosie Dobey trotted up, presenting Mrs. Walters with a cooler. “My daddy had his brother in Texas send this to us!” she announced. “It’s red soda!”

Grabbing Hutch’s hand, she pointed to a poster of two people dancing in a field at the back of the stage. The gospel choir was leaving, making way for a rock band. “At th’end of the Civil War, two years after Pres’dent Lincoln signed the ‘man’ci…” she stalled out over the pronunciation of the word.

“Emancipation Proclamation,” Huggy said.

“That.” Rosie nodded, smiling to see her parents walk up. “The people who was still slaves in Texas found out they shoulda been free all that time.”

“And they had a Jubilee,” Edith Dobey finished, proudly taking her daughter’s hand. “To celebrate. And we remember them to this day.”

“Hear, hear!” Starsky called, happily reaching for the slice of red velvet cake Mrs. Walters brought him.

FIN

There’s a party goin’ on right here,
a celebration lasts throughout the years.
So bring your good times and your laughter, too,
we gonna celebrate your party with you, come on now.

Kool and the Gang