For Juneteenth, north St. Louis County leaders want to celebrate Black culture together

North St. Louis County leaders want residents to celebrate Juneteenth together this year with “Five Days of Black Joy.”

To kick off the commemoration of the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free, elected officials from north county gathered Thursday to discuss developing stronger partnerships within the Black community.

“We plan to rebuild north county. We plan to build up our communities. … And we plan to move forward in the strong numbers that we know,” said state Rep. Chantelle Nickson-Clark, D-Florissant.

Leaders at the “State of Us” brunch introduced four priorities for the region to address – food insecurity, economic development, crime and community engagement.

Nickson-Clark and others at the gathering said they hope tackling such challenges together will highlight the importance of inclusion within the Black community.

Moving forward, north county leaders intend to gather for similar conversations. Next year, they plan to meet to evaluate the partnership’s progress and form an action plan.