The Milwaukee Times weekly newspaper is selling Juneteenth Strawberry Soda as part of a fundraiser that also serves to share the history of the holiday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week.
Strawberry soda is a common feature of the Juneteenth holiday as a nod to the celebrations of slaves in Galveston, Texas, who on June 19, 1865, learned they were free. Those celebrations, according to the Journal Sentinel story, included red food and beverages “to symbolize the blood that was shed by the slaves.”
Proceeds from the soda sales go toward the newspaper’s Louvenia Johnson Scholarship Fund , which offers financial support for Wisconsin students planning to pursue a college education and is named in honor of one of The Times‘ original founders. Each bottle of soda is $2.50.
For the past five years, The Times has sold the soda out of its office over the summer months, typically selling hundreds of bottles each year. Publisher Lynda Jackson Conyers told the Journal Sentinel she hopes to be able to sell it year-round in the future.
This year, the newspaper has expanded the soda’s reach by distributing it to three local businesses, in addition to the newspaper office located at 1936 N. King Drive.
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The newspaper was launched in 1981 as The Christian Times, but it soon expanded its coverage beyond churches and religious events, leading to the rebranding as The Milwaukee Times.
