GREENSBORO, N.C. — Juneteenth celebrations are already underway in Greensboro. The holiday commemorates when the last African Americans were freed from slavery. While Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, it's been recognized in Greensboro for decades.
Family members remember Patricia Fortune as a creative who loved to push boundaries.
“She loved antiques and all types of Black history,” Daughter Denee Fortune-McKnight said. “She was a craftswoman, she was a playwright, she was a very multitalented woman.”
The entrepreneur and mother of two loved to celebrate Juneteenth.
Fortune's family said she first learned about the day from her husband who attended a Juneteenth picnic in Victoria, Texas in the 1950s.
"It was just mind-blowing to see that many Black people having fun and enjoying each other, and I couldn't get it out of my head, and I couldn't get it out of her head once I told her about it,” Husband Frank Fortune said.
Fortune led Greensboro's first citywide Juneteenth festival in June of 1996 and ran the event several years after. Loved ones said the celebrations included speakers, food, live performances, and a play that she wrote.
"She liked to use a lot of the local talent too,” Denee Fortune-McKnight said. “Dance groups and things like that, that wouldn't have a stage that wouldn't have a platform, that wouldn't have those types of opportunities to perform.”
Fortune passed in May of 2021, a month before Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday. Her family said they will continue to spread her message and educate others about this vital part of history.
“We don't really learn about it in school,” Denee Fortune-McKnight said. "We need to know where we came from, what we've been through, and why we're strong."
Fortune will be honored Juneteenth Weekend in Greensboro. Her family said her vision helped launch multiple Juneteenth festivals throughout North Carolina.