INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — On Monday afternoon, Independence celebrated Juneteenth. It was a big success for event chair Anthony J Mondaine.
"Today was amazing, just breathtaking," he said. "It was absolutely beyond whatever I imagined - this was more ... I want to relive this moment ten times."
The relatively new federal holiday has had a longstanding identity, and it was Mondaine's job to bring that identify forward to Independence.
"Juneteenth, I've experienced since I was a little kid, and bringing it to a new audience was the most nerve-wracking part," he said. "So it wasn't the hope that this will go well, it's — I know it goes well, just come and see, come and experience it with me."
The federal recognition in 2021 didn't change the holiday for Mondaine, but it did expand who he celebrates with.
He says more people are paying attention now, people who didn't before.
"We don't just come together to have fun and good food and good music, but you leave educated," he said. "You leave enlightened. You leave understanding what Juneteenth is all about."
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