Juneteenth Celebration: Freedom, Fellowship and Fun

On Saturday afternoon at , the community of Santa Monica came together for the 19th annual . The theme of the day was “We See the Light, Know Our Rights.”

The name of the celebration refers to June 19, 1865, when the last slaves were emancipated in Galveston, Texas, two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth is recognized nationally, and Mayor has declared June 19 to 25 "Juneteenth Week" in Santa Monica.

[Go here to see a gallery of photos from the Juneteenth Celebration.]

In addition to music and dance performances, Juneteenth festivities included vendors selling items reflective of African and black culture, Southern-style soul food such as hot links and watermelon, an antique car auction, and booths representing everything from the to the and departments.

Organizers said at least 800 people were expected to attend. In the mid-afternoon, about 25 gathered together to learn a few lessons in drum rhythm. In one of the lessons, drumbeats were used to illustrate the sound of a horse carrying a general to Galveston, Texas, to declare that the slaves had been freed.

Longtime Santa Monica resident LaVerne Roth founded Santa Monica’s version of the event in 1992. Wearing a festive, bright green garb from West Africa, standing in front of the watermelon tent run by her son Roland, Roth recalled first learning of Juneteenth at age 4 on the banks of the Comanche Crossing in Sandy, Texas.

That day, she learned how former slaves had conceived of a celebration marking the day they learned of their emancipation. One of those slaves is a distant relative of hers, Roth said.

After 30 years in Santa Monica, wondering why nobody had created a Juneteenth celebration, Roth she decided she would be the one to do it.

“It’s important for young people to understand the significance of remembering freedom and its struggle,” she said.

Interspersed among the festivities were messages of understanding the past in connection with the future. A panel discussion in a nearby building discussed the U.S. Constitution and the importance of education and knowledge. 

An exhibit in the building also portrayed a span of images of black history, including images of Muhammad Ali and the New York Times edition announcing that Malcolm X had been assassinated.

Curators Charles Byrd and Abdul-Salaam Muhammad led tours of the exhibit throughout the day. As Byrd pointed to a graphic image of a lynching, Marie Hadji, who performed with the WB Gospel Singers that day, raised a hand to her mouth in horror.

Musical acts also reflected a desire to memorialize the past. Jamina Jones, a Los Angeles writer and producer, appeared onstage with an a cappella group wearing traditional cotton garb. The group was created to memorialize the Fisk Jubilee Singers, the emancipated slaves whose 1871 singing tour raised funds to save a schoolhouse from bankruptcy, Jones said.

Later, the group founded Jubilee Hall, the first permanent structure in the South for the education of blacks.

“We are uplifted by the legacy,” said Jones, who has also adapted a stage production based on the stories.

Chris Bechtel brought his three children to Virginia Avenue Park to participate in the Juneteenth celebration. This is the third year his family has attended.

“I think it’s a great way to ... remind people about history,” he said.  

Bechtel's son Cole, 7, sported atop his head a plastic fireman’s hat from the fire department booth. Cole said his favorite part of the day was running under the tall legs of a stilt walker from Kehinde Otis Johnson’s Stilt Walker Troupe.

Organizers hoped that children in particular would walk away with stronger knowledge of the past. Willis Tait Sr., who has been part of the planning process of Juneteenth for the past 12 years, said he talks to a lot of young people who have never heard of the history surrounding Juneteenth.

And he is trying to change that.

“On the West Coast, [young people] don’t know a thing about [Juneteenth],” said Tait, who is also the pastor of the Emmanuel Community Church by the Sea. “It’s important to let them know.”