The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza was filled with music, dance, poetry and storytelling on Saturday afternoon as State College community members came together to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans on June 19, 1865.
Led by the State College NAACP and the borough, it was the second annual Juneteenth celebration in the Centre Region and for the second year in a row Mayor Ron Filippelli proclaimed the date as Juneteenth Freedom Day in the borough. With President Joe Biden on Thursday signing legislation passed by Congress, it was the first year Juneteenth was celebrated as a federal holiday.
The day celebrates the arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and declare freedom from slavery.
“Last year I stood here… and it was the first Juneteenth celebration [in State College],” State College NAACP President Lorraine Jones said. “Today we stand here before everyone and share in jubilee that we now recognize the national federal holiday, and so that is a big accomplishment.
“As a nation we are now acknowledging our ugly past. Recognizing our flaws is a start for us to move in the right direction and to hope and healing to our community.”
The theme of Saturday’s event was “Remembering Our Freedom, Empowering Our Future,” words the emerged throughout the celebration.
“We celebrate our freedom, but at the same time we look at this as a moment of celebration and intercession, because the freedom we celebrate is not complete,” Pastor Harold McKenzie, of Unity Church of Jesus Christ, said during the opening prayer. “While on paper, it’s not manifested in the lives of us as a people. So we choose with your help to empower our future.”
Following a performance of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by vocalist Kat Leverenz and keyboardist Steve Mariner, Leslie Laing and Terry Watson, of the State College NAACP and Strategies for Justice, delivered spoken word pieces that told the story of freedom and persistence.
Dressed as a Union soldier, longtime civil rights activist, actor and Penn State emeritus professor of theatre Charles Dumas performed “Free at Last,” an original piece about the events commemorated by Juneteenth and their resonance today.
Multiple students from State College Area High School and the Delta Program read poetry reflecting the day’s themes.
Penn State Professor Emerita and retired Vice Provost Grace Hampton was joined by State High student Elaina Laing and Penn State student and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Chioma Okoroafor to perform Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.”
The celebration also included dance performances by Kapri Urie and Joy Robertson.
During her remarks, Jones also offered some new details on the Osaze Osagie Scholarship Endowment. Osagie’s parents, Iyun and Sylvester, worked with Central PA Standing Up for Racial Justice to create the scholarship through Centre Foundation in honor of their son, a 29-year-old Black man who in 2019 was fatally shot by a State College police officer serving a mental health warrant.
The scholarship will support racially underrepresented State College Area School District students who are transitioning to college with heavy financial need and who serve the community through volunteerism.
Jones said the first scholarships will be awarded in 2022. A committee of community members are leading fundraising efforts and initial funding amounts are expected to be announced in August.
“Like many of you today, Osaze Osagie loved his people and his community and wanted to make it a better place for all to feel welcome,” Jones said. “He was a caring student who loved to volunteer.
“By galvanizing our young people from all segments of our community, especially those who come from underserved communities, we can build bridges and create a more just and inclusive vision that provides opportunity for those who have been historically oppressed. By identifying those who have shown a commitment and ensuring that they have access to world class university education, we can help perpetuate Osaze’s legacy of caring.”
Filmmakers Robert “Hershey” Alston and Nazir K. Alston delivered brief remarks at the plaza. Following the event, 3 Dots Downtown hosted a screening and panel discussion for their film, “District Greenwood: The Amalgamated People,” which tells the story of the Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre that occurred May 31-June 1, 1921 and of the successful Black entrepreneurs of “Black Wall Street” who persevered during a time of segregation.
Perseverance, Leslie Laing said during her concluding remarks, is a hallmark of what Juneteenth celebrates.
“Our struggle continues, but we rise,” Laing said. “Our collective success has not been free nor easy, but we rise. Our prosperity is determined by the health, justice and equity that we experience within our community and with one another. So beyond today let’s remember our freedom and empower our future together. Creatively, reimagine our world as a just world as we have all proclaimed it to be.”
Saturday’s event was one of several this weekend in State College to commemorate Juneteenth.
On Friday night, Tierra Williams, the host of “Black Tea” and a community activist, and Latisha Franklin, a Penn State doctoral candidate in biochemistry and molecular biology and the founder of Gratified Grad LLC, hosted a “Juneteenth Jubilee” in Sidney Friedman Park. The event recognized local Black leaders, educators, artists, organizations and Black-owned businesses. It included performances by musicians and poets, remarks by local activists and politicians, food and festivities.
Williams and Franklin will host “Community Connection” at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Friedman Park. All people of African descent are invited for a community conversation and to build connections within the Black community in State College, according to a press release.
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State is commemorating the holiday with a virtual presentation of “Juneteenth: A Fierce Urgency Celebration!” The free one-hour film, produced in partnership with Electric Root, features performances and reflections from artists and academics. It will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and be available on demand until 7:30 p.m. Monday at cpa.psu.edu/events/juneteenth2021.
