June 20 will mark the first of what organizers hope will be a strong community celebration for years to come as Canaan Baptist Church holds its inaugural Juneteenth Family Day.
The event will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Killona Community Park. There will be games and door prizes, as well as prizes and contests specifically for children. Free drinks and snacks will be provided.
Aleshia Smith of the Canaan Baptist Church event committee said the goal is to celebrate the holiday while also teaching younger generations the meaning and history behind Juneteenth – and to rebuild a sense of community gathering.
“We started putting it together the first week of May, right before Mother’s Day,” said Smith. “We were at church and we had a Mother’s Day program scheduled, and we started talking about what are some other ways we can inspire our young people.
“So, it kind of came from, ‘Let’s teach them something they don’t really know about.’ We hope that every year this will get bigger and better.”
To that end, guest speakers are planned for the day, as well as presentations on Juneteenth history. The story of Opal Lee will be spotlighted – Lee, a retired teacher and activist, is often described as the “grandmother of Juneteenth” after she led successful efforts to make June 19, or Juneteenth, a federal holiday. In 2021, Lee saw that work manifest when Congress passed a bill to make the holiday official.
“Prior to that, Juneteenth was more of a state-by-state thing,” said Smith. “She made a great impact. We will have two young ladies who will be sharing a little information about Opal Lee.”
There will be a table where attendees can register to vote. There will also be a dance performance as part of the celebration.
Local students have also submitted essays on the subject of “What does Juneteenth mean to you?” for a contest.
Juneteenth celebrates the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union Army general Gordon Granger made the announcement of General Order No. 3 by proclaiming freedom for slaves in Texas, which was the last state of the Confederacy with institutional slavery, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The day is held as the longest-running African American holiday.
Originating in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, officially making it a federal holiday. It was the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was adopted in 1983.
During the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, these celebrations were eclipsed, but they grew in popularity again in the 1970s with a focus on African American freedom and African-American arts.
For Smith, it’s a celebration of freedom, but also far more.
“Juneteenth is not just a freedom day. It’s a liberation day,” Smith said. “And there’s a difference.”
She noted that when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn’t until more than two years later that Texas slaves learned they were free.
“And they had been free for two-and-a-half years,” Smith said. “So what does that say? You’ve got your freedom. But they weren’t liberated. To be liberated means now that I know I am free, I have the opportunity to express who I am. Being free is a wonderful thing, but if you don’t have a desire to learn about or a knowledge of who you really are, you’re not truly liberated.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring a tent, chairs and food – and to be ready to enjoy a good time with their community members.
That last point is a focus behind Juneteenth Family Day as well.
“We need to get back to community,” Smith said. “There was a time where a neighbor would share a cup of sugar without a second thought. In our society today, I can’t think of a better thing to do to try and get community back to what it used to be.”
