CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In honor of Juneteenth, a few local businesses came together to honor the day that commemorates the ending of slavery in America, by putting on Juneteenth Freedom Funday at Lazy Beach Brewing.
Herschel Schoats, the creator of the event, said he came up with the event when homeschooling his daughters, and said they were enthusiastic about learning about their ancestors and their culture. He’s hoping the event can help future generations learn about Juneteenth and its history as well as bring the community together.
“We are a multitask and multi grace community and its beautiful here…it’s beautiful what we have here so I think co-opping with all these general people helped make this happen,” Shoats aid.
Tiffany Cardenas, the owner of Tiffany’s Finesse, a jewelry business, said this event is helping her show her daughters that they can be anything they want if they set their minds to it and that was possible through the emancipation of African American slaves in America.
“It’s important to to be able to show that we’re a history in the making. We’re leaving behind a legacy for our children. They can also be entrepenuaers. They can do whatever they set their minds to,” Cardenas said.
Eric Williams, the owner of South Side Beauty Care, said he’s honoring his culture by selling products like soaps, oils, toothpaste, and shirts containing natural ingredients derived from Africa.
“We have actually exercised the freedom: love, truth peace, justice and freedom that was bestowed upon us before we was enslaved, and by coming out of slavery we have a chance to getting our hands back on that,” Williams said.
Omar Davis said he’s hoping to help people understand the African American culture through meditating, which has helped him through tough times. He’s hoping his business, Crashbell, can also help others struggling with their mental health.
“I was able to create a space for myself to have, not only in the mental, physical, emotional, but also in the financial, I realize how important it was to go back to my community and give them the same tools that I learned,” Davis said.
His neighbor, Cole Gaddy, came out to support Davis and the other businesses owned by African Americans because it helps him understand their culture.
“Celebrating and appreciating their culture and their struggle and their fight for freedom is such a beautiful thing,” Gaddy said.
Shoats said he’s hoping to have more of these events in the near future.
