Juneteenth event in Tucson

By Denise Renée Purdie

My cousin and I were remembering Juneteenths past on the west side and although nothing can stack up to those days, I saw enough beautiful Melanated people to make my heart sing. Throughout the day, I kept saying it felt like a family reunion as I saw several of my cousins. I even got a photo with the Wildcat mascots Wilbur & Wilma.

Even though it was quite hot, and my energy levels weren’t super high, when people came to my table, particularly kids, I put in the effort to really listen. It gave me a lot of joy to hear that they love to read and a lot of them also love to journal.

I’ll be working on a journal for kids over the summer. I plan to do one for boys and one for girls. I asked the kids what they like to read and a lot of them said “chapter books.” (That and a continued foray into romantic fiction are going to be my next big frontiers.)

I was in a tent with several authors and I had a lot of fun getting to know the two bookpreneurs next to me. Networking with fellow authors who understand the highs and lows of the book creation and selling business is gold.

Someone had the bright idea of us all getting a photo together and looking at the shots does give me a warm sense of Juneteenth. I agree that: “We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

Keywords: Juneteenth, Tucson, ancestors, authors, bookpreneurs