What happens to a holiday when its most beloved champion cannot join the celebration? On Thursday, hundreds still showed up for Opal’s Walk for Freedom, a 2.5-mile trek to celebrate Juneteenth. Sims, who led the walk, called herself the “granddaughter of Juneteenth.”

Juneteenth represents the long-delayed freedom of enslaved Black people in the United States. But Juneteenth isn’t just a day to celebrate. For me, it’s a marker—a moment to remember what came right after emancipation.

On a day that commemorates the moment the last enslaved Americans finally learned they were free, Cleveland paused to honor Juneteenth with reflection, recognition and faith.