Juneteenth Celebration in Boston at the National Center of Afro-American Artists

Juneteenth Celebration in Boston at National Center of Afro-American Artists

Posted: June 22, 2012 Nancy J Conrad

Boston was proud to participate in the Juneteenth Observance which marks the true end to slavery in the United States. While the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation is January 1, 1863, the date (in Texas) on which the final peoples held under slavery were officially released was over two years later on June 19, 1865.

The Boston Juneteenth Committee has been planning the June 19 celebration for many months and held a fundraiser on March 24, 2012 at the National Center of Afro-American Artists, 300 Walnut Ave in Roxbury to coincide with the celebration of Aretha Franklin's birthday.

With an excellent turn out of close to 100 participants, this year's Juneteenth Celebration focused on the issues of black people and their path from slavery towards equality. The formal program was in the spirit of worship with prayer, song, readings and a "sermon" delivered by Professor Margaret Burnham. A memorable and moving event, let's hope the celebration is supported in the years ahead by a greater representation of all Bostonians.

About the cover art

Spirit of Emancipation, 1923, was created by Meta W. Fuller (1879-2968) in celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

It was cast in bronze and placed in Harriet Tubman Park in Boston in 1999. The museum co-owns it and holds the original plaster.

Background to the Juneteenth Celebration

The earliest observations of Emancipation Day in Boston took place on January 1st, coinciding with the date that Frederick Douglass called the "most memorable day in American annals." The 19th and 20th century events featured public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. In nearby Rhode Island, August 1st was celebrated as Emancipation Day as late as the 1960s. This date was based on the ending of slavery in the British West Indies.

As these reports suggest, there was no national consensus regarding when Emancipation or Freedom Day should be celebrated. Juneteenth arose first as a Texas observance and then as a Southwestern regional celebration.

More recently, the observance of Juneteenth has gained traction in many states as a national day observing Emancipation in the United States.

In 1997, the U.S. Congress made Juneteenth a Day of Observance.
In 2007, as a result of legislation introduced by Representative Gloria Fox and others, Governor Deval Patrick awarded Juneteenth similar status in the Commonwealth.

Noteworthy Dates

August 1, 1834	Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Empire.
April 12, 1861	South Carolina secedes launching the Civil War.
September 22, 1862	Issuance of a Provisional Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln
January 1, 1863	Effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation.
January 31, 1865	Congress passes the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States.
April 9, 1865	General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses Grant's Union forces at Appomattox in northern Virginia ending the war.
June 19, 1865	Gen. George Gordon Granger issues General Order #3 in Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of slavery in all areas under his control.
December 6, 1865	The 13th Amendment is ratified finally ending slavery in the United States.

Program Edmund Barry Gaither, Master of Ceremonies Director National Center of Afro-American Artists
Drum call	Stephen O'Neal and the National Center Drummers
Notes for an Emancipation Poem Drisana Deborah Jack	Aaron Holtzclaw
The Occasion
Excerpts from letters of the Colored Women's Flag Committee for the Massachusetts 54th Regiment	L'Merchie Frazier Artist, educator and performer
Presentation of Colors	William E. Carter Post 17 American Legion
National Anthem Francis Scott Key	Led by the Hon. Milton Wright
Welcome	Gloria Fox, State Representative 7th Suffolk
No More Auction Block for Me Invocation	Hon. Milton Wright
Invocation	Reverend Ellis I. Washington Pastor, Grant A.M.E. Church
Political acknowledgments
His Eye is on the Sparrow	Zykyyah Sutton Singer
What, to a slave, is your 4th of July? Frederick Douglass, Rochester, N.Y July 4, 1852	Tayo Stuppard 7th grade student, Boston Latin Academy
Reading, Emancipation Proclamation	Jumaada Abdal-Khallaq H. Smith
Reading, Colonel George Gordon Granger's General Order #3	Imam Abdullah Faaruuq Mosque for Praising Allah
Live the Life I Sing About Mahalia Jackson	Vivian Cooley-Collier Singer
Introduction of the speaker
A Commentary on Emancipation	Margaret Burnham Professor of Law, Northeastern University, Founder of the Restorative Justice Project
Introduction of Boston Committee	Ralph F. Browne, Jr., Chairman MA. Juneteenth Committee
Benediction	Imam Abdullah Faaruuq
Lift Every Voice and Sing J.W. Johnson, J.R. Johnson	Led by Vivian Cooley-Collier

Program Notes

Notes for an Emancipation Poem was written by Drisana Deborah Jack as a memento mori or "reminder of death" to commemorate the souls for enslaved Africans who died in the Middle Passage. Jack comes from Saint Maartin in the Dutch Caribbean, and the story that she relates is equally relevant for all of us whose forebears survived the crossing from Africa to the Americas. The reading of an excerpt from her poem has been framed by drumming because drums so powerfully summon the presence of our ancestors connecting us across oceans and centuries.

Frederick Douglass' famous 4th of July speech was given at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, on July 5,1852, where he lived. ft is powerful in its biting assessment of the failure of our nation to live up to its promise of liberty for all of its citizens nearly a century after our Revolutionary War. Some historians have judged it to be his most memorable address.

By the Work of Their Hands is a reenactment that focuses on the role of women in Boston during the Civil War. It is based on research conducted by L'Merchie Frazier at nearby Camp Meigs and other sites and archives. Frazier is Director of Education at the Museum of African American History, as well as a noted visual and performance artist.

Photos