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August 6, 2024It is with profound gratitude that I invite you to join us in celebrating Entrenuity’s 25th Anniversary!
October 5, 2024
7 - 9 PM (doors open at 6:30 pm)
1449 S Michigan Ave | Chicago, IL 60605
It's hard to believe it's been 25 years since we started this incredible journey of encouraging and facilitating entrepreneurship. We could not have reached this milestone without the unwavering support and belief you have shown in our mission. We look forward to sharing an evening of celebration, reflection, and inspiration with you.
Please join us as we honor the past, celebrate the present, and envision the future of Entrenuity. Thank you for being a part of the Entrenuity family. We look forward to celebrating with you!
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Entrenuity Launches 2024-2025 Accelerator Cohort
July 31, 2024Last year's Cohort collectively generated over $450,000 in new income!
The EAC works with talented entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders who need an extra push to move their leadership and organizations forward.
The Entrenuity Accelerator Cohort provides Black, brown, and women founders and business owners in Chicago wholistic entrepreneurial support, including workspace, community, back office support, and coaching in the core areas of:
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You're Invited to Entrenuity's 25th Anniversary Celebration!
July 15, 2024I am excited to invite you to save the date for a special occasion - the Entrenuity 25th Anniversary Gala. It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since we started this incredible journey, and we couldn't have reached this milestone without your support.
The gala will take place on October 5, 2024, and we would be honored to have you join us for an evening of celebration, reflection, and inspiration. It's going to be a time to honor the past, celebrate the present, and envision the future of Entrenuity.
Your support has been crucial to our success, and we would be thrilled to have you there with us as we mark this important milestone. More details about the event will follow, but for now, please mark your calendars and save the date.
Thank you for being a part of the Entrenuity family. We look forward to celebrating with you!
HAPPY JUNETEENTH 2024
June 17, 2024"It's an opportunity to both look back and to look ahead to make sure that that notion of freedom and the fragility of it is always protected and celebrated."
– Lonnie Bunch | Educator & Historian
Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration marking the end of slavery in the United States, first recognized by the state of Texas, then spreading throughout the country. It is also known as "Freedom Day," "Juneteenth National Independence Day," or "Emancipation Day."
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation became official, making slavery illegal in the United States and declaring all enslaved people free: "I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free."
It took two and a half years for the news to reach Texas. On June 19, 1865, news of the Executive Order and, more importantly, the power to enforce it finally reached Texas. The enforcement was necessary. The Emancipation Proclamation itself had little impact on Texans due to the will of the enslavers to continue trading in persons as commodities and the lack of Union troops to prohibit them.
However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger's regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to uphold the proclamation's pledge that "the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons." Thus, June 19, 1865, became a powerful symbol of freedom. The rejoicing that day was the beginning of what would become an annual rite of celebration, Juneteenth. The first official Juneteenth celebrations were held on June 19, 1866, in Galveston and Houston, Texas, and quickly spread throughout the West.
News of freedom had reached different cities and states at different times, and Emancipation Day was generally celebrated on the anniversary of the good news. In the Southern Illinois/Paducah, Kentucky area, that day was August 8. Black people in Paducah still set aside each August 8 as a special day, with parades, picnics, and reunions. The earliest known celebration in Illinois occurred in 1882 in Elizabethtown, Hardin County. Brian Jenkins' great-great grandfather, Moses Barker, was one of the key organizers.
Today, Juneteenth celebrates African American resilience and achievement while aiding in the preservation of historical narratives that have advanced racial and personal advancement since Freedom Day.