State College is among seven areas in Pennsylvania to receive state grants for this year’s Juneteenth celebrations.
Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) will receive a $15,000 Journeying Toward Freedom grant through the Pennsylvania Tourism Office to support the celebration, the Department of Economic and Community Development announced on Monday.
Juneteenth, which is observed annually on June 19, commemorates the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved African Americans in 1865. State College held its first Juneteenth celebration in 2020 and last year the day became a federal holiday.
The Journeying Toward Freedom grant program was established this year by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office in partnership with Chester County-based organization Voices Underground as part of a commitment for the commonwealth to “become the nation’s leader in African American cultural heritage tourism and ensuring the stories of all Pennsylvanians are uplifted and heard,” according to a news release.
The State College chapter of the NAACP organizes the local Juneteenth celebration in partnership with State College Borough, the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza Committee, Penn State Center for the Performing Arts and HVAB
Lorraine Jones, president of the State College Chapter of the NAACP, and Charles Dumas, Penn State emeritus professor of theatre and longtime civil rights activist, were on hand on Monday at a press conference in Harrisburg announcing the grants.
“This history and things that we can do to make people within our community feel like they belong, that is so important,” Jones said. “Part of this celebration of… Juneteenth is making sure people not just feel like they can be in a community but they actually belong in a community… Part of the process of being able to belong is having things that speak to our culture.”
State College’s Juneteenth celebration this year will have several events that will not only entertain, but also educate, Jones said.
“There’s a lot of people within our community, within the state of Pennsylvania, that don’t even know what Juneteenth is,” she said. “To have an opportunity and have people that reach out and supply funding for us to be able to educate and make people aware of what this means, of our independence, of our liberty within this nation is so important.”
Last year’s Juneteenth celebration in State College included music, dance, poetry and spoken word performances, along with films, guest speakers and other activities.
A total of $89,000 was awarded through the state grant program based on criteria that included historical significance, communications and marketing plans, educational outreach, volunteer resources and matching funds.
Juneteenth Lehigh Valley, NAACP Johnstown Branch, Sherman Theater (Monroe County),
Stop The Violence (Pittsburgh), Welcome America Inc. (Philadelphia) and Young Professionals of Color, (Harrisburg) were the other recipients.
“Juneteenth is an especially important holiday because it recognizes the day our nation began moving toward fulfilling its destiny as a nation where all people are free,” said Carrie Fischer Lepore, deputy secretary for marketing, tourism and film in the Department of Community and Economic Development. “I am proud that we are not only helping to give this important holiday the recognition it deserves, but that we are uplifting the stories of many Americans who have historically been underrepresented in our cultural assets. By promoting Juneteenth, we are demonstrating that we are a commonwealth that is welcoming to and respectful of all people.”
