Elgin NAACP Branch #6174 hosted a celebration of Juneteenth on Sunday evening, June 19 with a program at Thomas Memorial Park. This year’s Juneteenth program was a special one: not only is 2022 Elgin’s 150th anniversary, but the 50th anniversary of Thomas Memorial Park. In the 1970s, the Thomas family gave up 12 acres of land to be used as a park, and it became the first community park in the southeast part of Elgin. Sunday night’s program included words from community leaders, music by The James Sisters and The Thomas Family, and the reading of the City of Elgin’s ...