MILWAUKEE — On a sunny Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, if you were lucky, you could hear the famous saxophone riff from the popular song Careless Whisper being played in Veterans' Park.
“I'll let you in on a secret. I did not pick the instrument, but when I first picked it up, I wanted to learn Careless Whisper.”
That's 14-year-old Jace White. While the saxophone wasn't his choice, he did fall in love with it.
“When I play, it makes me feel, honestly, free, and makes me feel large amounts of joy," he said.
Jace White was the winner of the 2026 Mister Juneteenth Scholarship pageant. He earned the title for his academic achievements, personal essay, and talent, which, of course, is the sax.
“It's bigger than me. Milwaukee has one of the highest ratings for incarceration for young Black men, and I wanted to prove not all of us have to be a negative statistic," White said.
For him, it's about doing the little things right each day and believing that the results will come.
“I am a normal person. You don't have to be this person who's really, really famous to do great things.”
I wanted to know a little bit more about Mister Juneteenth. So I asked him what his dream is.
“If I could have anything in the world, I'd want an immense support system that tells me I can do what I want to do.”
I can't argue with an answer like that. That's truly a dream come true. But he's 14. And I wanted to know what his ultimate, pie-in-the-sky, larger-than-life dream is. If he could do anything in the world, what would it be?
“My dream is to do a movie with Tyler Perry," White said.
He loves acting. White has been in the Milwaukee Repertory's production of A Christmas Carol multiple times. He sings in the Golda Meir choir, and he also grew up modeling.
Like White said, he is just a normal 14-year-old. He loves rappers like Tyler, The Creator and Don Toliver. He plays video games like Tekken. As Mister Juneteenth, he doesn't necessarily want to be looked up to.
Watch the story to learn about Mister Juneteenth and hear him playing saxophone...
“Hey, he's just like me. If he can do this, so can I," White said about his perception as Mister Juneteenth.
Maybe he'll continue playing saxophone. Hopefully, we will see him on the big screen. But more than anything, he just wants to set a good example.
And finally, a message from his mom, Dee-Dee: "I couldn't have asked for a better kid. And just continue to know that you have the amazing support system that you want, because as you told us, you believe your support system is the way that you'll be able to accomplish anything, and you will be able to accomplish anything because we're not going anywhere. We're rocking with you, and we got you."
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