Community members gathered Saturday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza and on South Fraser Street for entertainment and reflection as State College celebrated the fourth year of its growing Juneteenth celebration.
After kicking off with an art exhibition opening on Friday night at the Woskob Family Gallery, the festivities continued with a block party from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday to commemorate the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans on June 19, 1865.
On what was a picture-perfect early summer afternoon, community members from all walks of life enjoyed live music, poetry, dance, food and a market showcasing Black vendors.
“Today we hope that our fourth commemoration of Juneteenth in State College serves to both educate and entertain and allows us to create a more celebratory and equitable community for all,” Leslie Laing, State College NAACP educational co-chair and a chair of the Juneteenth celebration, said.
Since starting in 2020 amid the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic with an in-person and online event, State College’s Juneteenth has continued to grow into a multi-day summer tradition.
That growth is a reflection of the work of community members, said State College Mayor Ezra Nanes. Earlier this month, Nanes issued a proclamation declaring June 19 as Juneteenth Freedom Day in the borough.
“Juneteenth is a defining holiday for the present and the future of this region,” Nanes said. “It represents who we are and represents who we want to be, who strive to be. Seeing the growth of this holiday is very important for the community and it is a reflection of the will of the people here and of all the work of so many incredible leaders and volunteers.”
The art exhibition at Woskob, which is curated by Grace Hampton and open through June 21, features work from youth and adult artists in a variety of media with a theme of “Threading the Fabric of Freedom.”
That theme continued on Saturday with activities that included an opportunity for attendees to contribute to a “Story Quilt.”
“Our weeklong art exhibition calls for the community to pause and reflect on the drawings, paintings and photography that display unity, equity, peace and freedom,” Laing said. “Our block party celebrates the federal obligation that allows us to assemble in the streets, showcasing Black business owners represents our economic success. Our poets, our authors, our dancers, our musicians showcase our talent and our excellence. We pray and persist. We lift our voices and resist. We collectively stitch together the fabric of our lives resourcefully to create a more beautiful life together.”
She explained that the theme reflects how the progress toward freedom and equality has not been a straightforward path.
“A hundred years of Jim Crow and the war on drugs keeps many African Americans devastated and destitute. Voter suppression continues. Tactics that prevent marginalized groups from voting even now in 2023 means political freedom is still ‘free-ish,’” Laing said. “Reshaping America has been coming together like a quilt, piece by piece. And so the 2023 theme of threading the fabric of freedom illustrates both our past struggles and our future successes.”
The commemoration of Juneteenth is also a time to recall the sacrifices of those throughout history who fought for freedom, Pastor Paul McReynolds of Albright-Bethune United Methodist Church said during an opening prayer.
“Juneteenth is a reminder that the circumstances of our past does not divine our future. However, it should encourage and embolden each of us to stand and to walk tall,” McReynolds said. “…We remember the ones who have come before us, the ancestors who endured the chains of slavery and fought for the freedoms we celebrate today. We honor their unconquerable spirit, their unwavering fate and their unyielding hope. May we carry their legacy within us, recognizing their sacrifices for us were not in vain.”
Terry Watson, founder of Strategies for Justice, and Charles Dumas, actor, Penn State professor emeritus and long time civil rights activist, spoke about “The Road to Galveston,” how the fight for freedom did not end with the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
“It took a movement of millions of people to bring us to this point today,” Dumas said.
