Juneteenth: Our History, Culture, Traditions, and Soul as a People
The Annual Juneteenth Festival is a very special time in the African American community. Juneteenth will be held on Saturday, June 14th and Sunday, June 15th at Dr. Martin Luther King Park on Fillmore Avenue. The theme of Juneteenth this year is “Celebrating Freedom, History, Culture, and Resilience. This year is the 49th Anniversary of Juneteenth. The President of Juneteenth Festival is Carrone Evon Crump. Her message to the community is “Peace and Love to Africans and African people everywhere. Juneteenth is a celebration like no other.” It is an expression of our talent, creativity, and soul as a people. There is nothing else like it in Buffalo. The floats, drummers, marching bands, drill teams, soul music, cars, and dancing are a testament to the great talent of our community. The drill teams always put on a spectacular show.
The parade also includes several community organizations. The floats feature our elected and community leaders and special performances by our African American Cultural Center dancers and drummers. The Juneteenth Festival is also a time of renewing old friendships, reuniting families, and bringing together all segments of the community. The vendors provide an array of goods from African clothing, jewelry, instruments, artwork, books, and lots of good food. This Columnist has been a vendor at the Juneteenth Festival for more than 30 years. It always brought my family together to sit and talk under the tent. The good news is that there is a Griot Tent set up for the seniors to rest and have some refreshments during the festival.
The word Griot (pronounced with a silent “t”) is a person in the tradition of West Africa who was the keeper of the history, storyteller and person of wisdom in the village. This columnist was a vendor at the Juneteenth Festival for over 30 years!! I have many memories of my husband always helping me set up my tent and going early in the morning to take my books and other items. I also did presentations on our music history at the festival. I did it on the entertainment stage. My tent was a place where my grandchildren and adult children and other relatives could come together and enjoy the parade and other events. In recent years former Legislator Betty Jean Grant introduced the idea of a tent for our Seniors where they can rest and have refreshments.
There will even be a shuttle to take seniors around the park. It is my hope that this will get bigger next year. This Columnist took advantage of this service a few times during the festival, and it really made a difference. A few years ago, I was invited by the Urban League along with historian Dr. Barbara Nevergold to be in the parade. We were honored as Seniors who contributed much to our community. I still have photos of this event, and it was an exciting time.
Juneteenth is the oldest freedom celebration in the country. When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it did not free all the slaves. It only freed those in the Confederate states fighting against the Union. When the news finally reached Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, there were Juneteenth celebrations in Texas and other states—Oklahoma— complete with ceremonies, exhibits, and feasts. It became a state holiday in Texas and Oklahoma. In Buffalo, the Juneteenth Festival began in 1976. It was started and sponsored by the B.U.I.L.D. organization. B.U.I.L.D. stood for Build, Unity, Independence, Liberty, and Dignity.
B.U.I.L.D. worked for civil rights in employment, education, equal access to jobs, fair housing, and it confronted the establishment for equality in securing jobs for African Americans in the construction industry. The B.U.I.L.D organization accomplished a great deal. It saw the formation of the festival as a means of preserving our history, culture, and traditions. The Juneteenth Festival is our premier summer event and one that we all look forward to attending each year. The Juneteenth Festival was signed into law in 2021, making it a National Holiday by former President Joe Biden.
As we celebrate the Juneteenth Festival this year, I hope that our parents, guardians, and educators would take time to give our youth the history of the festival and emphasize that this is a time for Peace and Unity. One of the things I did when I was teaching in the Buffalo Schools was to include Juneteenth in my classroom instruction. Juneteenth in Buffalo will be approaching a major milestone next year, with 50 years of celebrating our cultural heritage. Happy Juneteenth!! Peace and Love!!