Here's some (rough) footage from Saturday's beautiful and meaningful Juneteenth celebration that was held at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center and organized by Kemone Hendricks.
June 19 is celebrated as Juneteenth in honor of one of the final acts of emancipation of slaves in the U.S.
About 100 Evanston residents filled the upstairs space at the cultural center to celebrate this important date, which, as Hecky Powell encouraged Evanston's 5th ward Alderman Robin Rue Simmons to do, should be proclaimed an Evanston holiday--and in fact should be recognized as a national holiday.
Last year the U.S. Senate did pass a bill that would recognize Juneteenth Independence Day, but it has not yet been approved in the House.
Guests enjoyed Hecky's BBQ, along with his special, traditional Juneteenth strawberry soda, learned the fascinating story behind Juneteenth from Evanston expert Baxter Swilley, and heard Powell's family history--his great-grandfather and his great-grandmother were born into slavery.
Artist Fran Joy showed her painting of Emmett Till and told the story behind his brutal murder in Mississippi at the hands of a white mob.
Singer songwriter Tukki Tukkiman who recently moved to Evanston by way of Senegal and then France, accompanied spoken-word artist Nyce Landry who performed a powerful piece about slavery, freedom, and his experience as a Black man today. Tukki played a couple of his own songs as well.
Juneteenth began in Galveston, Texas where on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major Gen. Gordon Granger landed with news that the Civil War had ended and slaves were free.
The announcement came two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 that had ended slavery in the U.S.
But, since that proclamation was made during the Civil War, it was ignored by Confederate states. It wasn't until the end of the war that the Executive Order was enforced in the South.
In a moving and powerful tribute to the solemnity and celebration of the day, Swilley asked the audience to stand as he read Granger's order:
"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer."
Around the country, Juneteenth is often commemorated with barbecues and strawberry soda. Other red foods such as red rice (rice with tomatoes), watermelon and red velvet cake are also popular: the red foods commemorate the blood that was spilled during the days of slavery.
Hoping next year there are so many people who attend the event that it will need to be celebrated at a larger venue!
Here's Celebrate, by poet Nyce Landry.
Celebrate celebrate celebrate
It’s amazing we escaped that fate
Blessed to live a life in the light
To bring light to the dark
And allow our past to shine a way
Celebrate celebrate celebrate
Mazeltov I guess I should say
emancipation of Blacks is one thing
But why do we still feel like slaves
Especially since the number spans
Over 200k in one state
I guess they didn’t get the memo of a new day
Regardless
Celebrate celebrate celebrate
A proclamation that would make America Great is underway
No longer 3/5s of a man we stand
And freedom is close enough to taste
And as the civil war concludes
Injustices ensued still in the union states
But wait, I thought the rhetoric passed
Wouldn’t allow for enslavement to last
Yet only the confederates couldn’t eat the cake
Make no mistake, the war on slavery
Was only made to seize control
And not only hold all the cards
For the game of thrones they played
But also clone the image of free trade
And capitalism to take place
It seems to me like we were played
And the history books white washed
We seen hero’s made with a moral compass and integrity in honest Abe
To free those slaves and distribute justice in which our praise
Uplifted a notion of a nation
That took pride in saying
We’ll all be equal someday
Yet still
Celebrate Celebrate Celebrate
It only took two years for that notion
To be sustained and over another hundred for civil rights to take shape
Was it all worth the wait?
Cause even til this day I feel misplaced
Over-used and underpaid
Limited opportunities presented my way
Living to a standard my skin color
Didn’t have a hand in creating
Ruled by a system that still oppresses
My fate
But, I don’t want to make this about Race
Or insinuate that I’m being held back
Due to the pigment I display
Instead I set praise to the day Real change broke through and allowed freedom to take shape
June 19th 1865 will forever be a monumental day
So
Celebrate celebrate celebrate
And never forget
