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Juneteenth Celebration In Aurora Filled With Meaning For Community

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- In Aurora, the Juneteenth celebration was a much smaller affair compared to Denver, but it for the community it was meaningful.

"This is the first-ever Juneteenth event in Aurora Colorado ever."

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Omar Montgomery the President of the NAACP Aurora Branch says it was long overdue for a city like Aurora.

"If we're the most diverse cities in the nation or one of the most diverse cities in the nation then we have to be inclusive," he said.

The celebration was held outside the Aurora Town Center Shopping Mall and was sponsored by the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department.

That may come as a surprise for some, because just one year ago in June 2020, police in Aurora tear-gassed protestors calling for justice for Elijah McClain.

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Omar Montgomery says, the fight for justice will never stop, but there are problems in the community that need solving and no one group can do it on their own.

"We still need to see justice for Elijah McClain. That's it. That's where we are at, but at the same time, we have kids that are committing suicide. We have kids that are out there with guns we need to take care of we need to keep reforming and changing the training of our police department and our public safety officers. The only way we are going to do that is if we work together," Montgomery says.

Aurora police say they were happy the community invited them to celebrate this day of pride, jubilation and freedom with them, because their new chief wants to earn the trust of the community back.

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Aurora Police's Community Relations Chief Executive Claudine McDonald says, "A big thing right now for Chief Wilson is to rebuild relationships and so that is the reason why I think this is so important."

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