The town of Evanston, Illinois, part of the Chicago metro area, has determined that there will be no physical July 4 celebration in 2021, however, a Juneteenth concert-style event and a LGBT pride “drive by parade” are offered by the city during the month of June.
On the Evanston4th.org website, the city notes that “Based on concern for public health due to the unpredictability of the pandemic’s impact, vaccination rates, and in cooperation with our local authorities, the Trustees of the Evanston Fourth of July Association voted to cancel the Fun Run, Parade, Palatine Concert Band performance and Lakefront Fireworks show on July 4, 2021.” Instead of a physical parade, the city is offering “a virtual celebration” that appears to be a series of videos played in rapid succession.
However, the new, left-wing sponsored version of Independence Day, known as Juneteenth, received a concert-style series of performance. According to the City of Evanston website, the event took place today – June 19 – in Ingraham Park, and featured “art, music, food and celebration” including three food trucks, two “muralists” and speakers or musical performances from a total of 9 individuals or groups. There is zero mention of COVID-19 or the pandemic on the web page.
Similarly, Evanston is set to offer a LGBT pride parade-style event, couched slightly due to the pandemic. Instead of a traditional LGBT pride parade, which often features facsimilies of sexual acts between same sex couples, often within direct view of young children, Evanston will instead have a sort of reverse-parade, in which residents decorate their homes or yards and vehicles drive by slowly to admire them. This event will be held on June 26 and will also feature “a community picnic and candle lighting and remembrance ceremony.”
My home town of Evanston, Illinois is having a Juneteenth Parade and a Gay Pride Parade, but is cancelling the 4th of July Parade & Fireworks. pic.twitter.com/KFhJ335LEl
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) June 19, 2021
Many Republicans, including the 14 House Republicans who voted against making Juneteenth a federal holiday, expressed concerns that the seemingly manufactured day was created out of thin air as a blatant attempt to overwrite American history – specifically Independence Day on July 4 – with a new holiday that would remind Americans of the dark period of slavery, both taking away from the United States’ history, and further dividing Americans along racial lines.
