Delaware

Thousands celebrate Delaware Juneteenth Association with 30th anniversary parade, festival

Published

2 years ago

June 15, 2024

Thousands celebrate Delaware Juneteenth Association with 30th anniversary parade, festival

It was 1994 when a handful of organizers created the Delaware Juneteenth Association ― not just to celebrate Black history, but also armed with a mission statement to develop programming to address problems in the community.

Thirty years later, the organization is continuing to grow and hosted its largest annual event on Saturday: the Juneteenth freedom parade and festival, which drew about 3,000 people to Wilmington’s downtown and the Riverfront.

“We started with a flicker, and now we’re the keeper of the flame,” said Sylvia Lewis-Harris, one of six co-founders, led by main founder Bernie Wilkins, as she looked out at the crowd from under a tent.

Parade doubles in size

Saturday’s parade had 60 units marching down King Street from Rodney Square to the Riverfront, doubling last year’s effort celebrating the holiday, which is Wednesday. The parade ended at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park with a six-hour festival celebration with children’s rides and music by R&B singer Christopher Williams (“I’m Dreamin’”) and The Odyssey Band.

Lines stretched down the sidewalk for the most popular food vendors, lured by the smells of whiting and catfish sandwiches from Vern’s Fish Fry and cajun crab macaroni and cheese and fried shrimp from Krys’ Soul Kreations.

The 2.4-acre Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park is named after Underground Railroad figures and abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Wilmington’s Thomas Garrett, who is believed to have helped almost 3,000 enslaved people to freedom.

“Having it here really makes it poignant,” Lewis-Harris said of the park, which began hosting the Juneteenth festival several years ago after it moved from Christina Park a few blocks away.

Juneteenth now a state of Delaware holiday

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Liberation Day, is celebrated June 19 commemorating the day in 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation was read in Galveston, Texas, announcing all slaves in the state were free.

It came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation, which had formally freed the slaves in rebellious states. Many slave owners didn’t comply and enforcement was slow to reach Texas.

In 2020, the murder of George Floyd, who was Black, at the hands of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, spawned widespread protest nationwide and in Delaware.

Less than a month after Floyd’s murder, Gov. John Carney announced all state offices would close in observance of Juneteenth. In 2022, it became a permanent state holiday.

A history lesson in freedom

It was the first time at the event for Charles Hayward, a longtime retired state of Delaware employee.

Hayward, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity, attended with his wife, Saundra, who was celebrating her birthday on a park bench with a cup of ice cream.

“I was raised here and wanted to come down and show support, knowing the background of the park. There’s a lot of history here,” said Hayward, now living in Brandywine Hundred.

First-year association president Styna Marisa LeCompte says Juneteenth and the celebrations around it are especially important for the younger generation.

“Nowadays with our youth, they sometimes aren’t taught history, never mind Black history,” she said. “They need to know whose shoulders they are standing on.”

JUNETEENTH IN DELAWARE: 8 must-see events that you can attend

MORE ON JUNETEENTH: Delaware’s oldest Juneteenth organization kicks off observance with flag-raising ceremony

Juneteenth observance and Delaware Juneteenth Pageant still to come

In addition to the weekend parade and festival, the association will host a Juneteenth observance service at Cornerstone Fellowship Baptist Church (20 W. Lea Blvd., Wilmington) on Wednesday at noon.

The Rev. Dr. Jesse Wendell Mapson Jr., senior pastor of the Monumental Baptist Church in Philadelphia, will be the guest preacher with music by the Rev. Justin Powell and an appearance by Miss Juneteenth Delaware Erin Hubbard Witcher.

This year’s Juneteenth events will end June 29 at 5 p.m. with the 27th annual Delaware Juneteenth Pageant at The Baby Grand (818 N. Market St., Wilmington). Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for ages 12 and younger at thegrandwilmington.com.

Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

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Delaware

Delaware will save more than $300M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

Published

2 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Delaware will save more than 0M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

The fiscal year 2027 forecast remained relatively flat from the October meeting. But some expenses declined, including salaries for teachers. Brian Maxwell, state director of Management and Budget, said teacher salary expenses were down because student enrollment has dropped. He said federal immigration policy could be impacting the state’s Multilingual Learners.

“Obviously, there have been a number of students that may not be showing up to class just because of the enforcement of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” he said. “So some of the families may be scared to actually send their kids to school.”

Maxwell said overall enrollment is down, but the number of students needing special education services is up. The next student count is in February.

DEFAC members also discussed the revised Healthcare Spending benchmark. In September, the subcommittee devised a methodology that only used healthcare inflation, resulting in a 7.13% for 2026.

“We all gathered in October and there was a fair amount of concern with that outcome,” said Christen Linke Young, director of Health and Social Services. “So the subcommittee reconvened earlier this month to consider a new approach.”

After adopting the methodology using expected national inflation data and a three-year measure of health care cost growth, the benchmark now sits at 4.9%. But Young said there would be no penalty for hospitals exceeding the guideline.

Gov. Meyer and the state’s largest nongovernmental employer, ChristianaCare Health System, reached an agreement earlier this year in a lawsuit the regional hospital system filed last year. The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board was created by lawmakers in June 2024 to try to rein in hospital spending. But the agreement, which requires new legislation and the governor’s signature, would strip the board of its authority to approve and modify hospital budgets.

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Delaware

Snow melting soon as Delaware warms after icy blast

Published

14 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Snow melting soon as Delaware warms after icy blast

Delaware may have seen its first snowfall of the season, but it won’t stick around for long.

Despite below freezing temperatures Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, it’s possible that by the weekend there won’t be a trace of snow.

Here’s what to know about this week’s weather and snow melt.

When will the snow melt away?

While Delaware will face freezing temperatures Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, the National Weather Service forecast is calling for a warmup starting on Dec. 17. Here’s the forecast:

New Castle County

Cold weather will continue this evening and into Dec. 16 with lows dropping into the teens. The county will hit 32 degrees on Dec. 16 before dropping to 22 that night. Temperatures start climbing into the low 40s with partly sunny skies on Dec. 17. Highs will hit 51 degrees on Dec. 18. If most of the snow hasn’t melted by that point, it should be gone after rain goes through the area during the overnight between Dec. 17 and Dec. 18. Highs will remain above freezing, hitting 44 on Dec. 18.

Kent County

Lows will drop into the teens overnight before climbing above freezing on Dec. 16. On Dec. 17, Kent County will see partly sunny skies with highs in the upper 40s. It will be mostly cloudy on Dec. 18 with highs hitting 55. There’s a 90% chance of rain during the overnight hours into Dec. 19. The 19th is looking mostly cloudy with highs reaching 47.

Sussex County

After lows hit 19 during the overnight tonight, the high for Dec. 16 will be 38 degrees with sunny skies. Any snow in the southern part of the state will vanish Dec. 17 and Dec 18. Both days will feature sunny skies with highs reaching the low 50s on Dec. 17 and almost hitting 60 on Dec. 18.

What is black ice?

Despite the warm up, overnight temperatures are expected to be below freezing. If you are driving at night, you’ll need to watch out for black ice.

According to The Weather Channel, black ice is a thin layer of ice that forms on roads and is difficult to see. It’s generally found on bridges, overpasses and spots on the road shaded by trees or other objects.

If roadways are wet from rain, snow or fog and temperatures drop below 32 degrees, black ice can form on roadways.

If you hit black ice, you should do the following:

Keep your steering wheel straight.
Do not brake
Take your foot off the accelerator to reduce speed

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Delaware

Delayed openings in Delaware: What schools are starting late?

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Delayed openings in Delaware: What schools are starting late?

Potentially icy road conditions have led every public school in Delaware to announce delayed openings for Dec. 15.

Every public school is operating on some sort of delay, most of which are two hours. The Delaware Department of Transportation already sent out a warning about treacherous driving conditions. Whatever has not dried from the Dec. 14 snowstorm will freeze over as temperatures plunge into the 20s and winds kick up over night.

The following school districts have announced delays.