Juneteenth Recognizes the Beauty of and the Ugly Truth of U.S. History
On June 19, 2021, Malden observed its 4th annual Juneteenth celebration. In the words of Karen Colón Hayes, KCH, Candidate for Councilor-At-Large in Malden, community organizer, and member of Malden Community Organizing for Racial Equity (MaldenCORE), “the celebration was the result of a year of hard work, together as a team, to put together this critical event, pushing the dial forward on dismantling racism.”
On that Saturday, there was a morning in-person flag raising with music and speakers, and an evening virtual program with singing, dance, spoken word poetry, step dancing, drumming, and more (Juneteenth celebration Facebook live, https://www.facebook.com/MaldenCORE/videos/946394262871160/)
According to MaldenCORE member and Juneteenth photographer Susan Margot Ecker, the day was one of “shared joy. It was experiential with music, drumming, and dance, which brought people together, connected everyone.” She added that “It’s really important to have Juneteenth as a national holiday; since the 4th of July does not celebrate freedom for all Americans. Juneteenth really explains why. In Texas, African Americans were still enslaved — their freedom was kept secret for 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. But on Juneteenth, everyone could celebrate their freedom together.”
June 19th is now officially a national holiday in the U.S.: Juneteenth National Independence Day, Freedom Day, symbolically recognizes the day that all enslaved African Americans were freed on June 19, 1865–2½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation was made law. The day originated in Galveston, Texas, when U.S. General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas and read the order that all enslaved people had been freed. (ref. https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth )
For Erga Pierrette, co-convener of MaldenCORE, community organizer, and one of the speakers at this year’s Juneteenth, the organization of Juneteenth was “absolutely amazing on so many levels. There was collaboration and folks had so much willingness to step up.” She remarked that “The vision that I had about the Juneteenth flag being raised throughout the entire District became a reality because MaldenCORE made it happen and the Mayor’s office supported that effort.”
Erga said, “I loved the spirit of, ‘This is what we’re doing, folks” and not asking for permission because it was the type of movement that needed to take place this year, of all times.” And now “other communities are looking to do the same thing, as well.” She said that we can “influence other communities by word of mouth” and they’re saying, “’If Malden can do it, we can do it, too. Let’s figure out how.’ And, it’s just building the communities across the town lines.” Erga said that “We were able to make so many connections, even with people that were outside of Massachusetts, which is really beautiful.”
Erga spoke delightedly about the performers, mentioning Lydia Harrell’s moving rendition of the National Black Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and the A.O. Step Team in the virtual evening program, and she also applauded the inclusivity of the event. For example, the evening event was simultaneously broadcast in seven spoken languages, as well as American Sign Language (ASL) and she added, “the person who does ASL interpretation for the Governor was there with us!”
Aside from the event itself, Malden’s Juneteenth celebration is now serving as a catalyst in other ways. She said, “In the heart of it all, it’s about the education and the knowledge and to learn about the true history, which brings me back to the importance of decolonizing the curricula, one story at a time.” For an in-depth summary on this topic, see a 3-minute video on “Decolonizing the U.S. School Curriculum from Greater Boston” (August 2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s05lr_lfnmw .
To add to the joy and connectivity of the morning flag raising event, Elizabeth Scorsello, MaldenCORE member and photographer, organized the preparation and distribution of Southern Tea Cakes, which were created about 200 years ago by enslaved African Americans who watched white ladies serve them in their parlors and who created a version based on what they had available to them. The tea cake has been revived by Etha Robinson, a retired schoolteacher from Mississippi, as a celebratory food for Juneteenth, and Elizabeth concluded that, “I think it’s important that we remember when we think of Juneteenth and the tea cakes that we’re sharing something sweet, but it’s from great suffering. We cannot forget that.”
In addition to her own contribution, Elizabeth had the generous assistance of bakers and folks who packed the tea cakes to be distributed, as well as the printing of bookmarks with a recipe and history of the Juneteenth flag and The Gallery@57, which advertised and stored the delicious treats.
Rachel Sorlien, MaldenCORE member and Malden Public School educator took the lead in reaching out to all the schools in the District to both advertise the event and ensure that flags would be raised at every school. In one day, she “drove to every single school in the District and delivered the flags to the office.” Rachel said that “It is awesome that it is a celebration that brings in all these different elements — some serious, some more celebratory” and “I think that the more we organize and celebrate and honor this every year, the more momentous it will feel to the people of Malden, no matter what their racial identity is and that’s something that I have felt.”
Rachel stated, “As a white person, I did not know about Juneteenth more than a few years ago and now I feel that it’s a really important holiday, and each time we organize around it, I feel that more deeply. I hope that’s where the city of Malden is headed as a whole.” As an educator, Rachel said that Juneteenth is “a chance to reflect on history, of course, but I also really like the fact that it’s a celebration and I think that that’s really important for the students to know and learn about — is that there’s a lot to celebrate about African American history and culture, but also who our students are today in the schools, too.”
Marcia Manong, MaldenCORE member and community organizer, working at Bread of Life and Malden River Works, spoke of her feeling of conflict about Juneteenth. She is “proud of MaldenCORE and has deep respect for the organization,” saying that “it is one of the only organizations working to dismantle racism, and it’s needed.” She spoke of feeling “very joyous” and “saw colleagues smiling for the first time, belonging, feeling good.” She “really appreciates MaldenCORE, making it happen.”
About Juneteenth, Marcia said, “I respect that my ancestors saw this as an opportunity to celebrate freedom, so out of respect, I do that, as well.” She continued, “Juneteenth was important to correct history and share the truth and why there was even a need for a Juneteenth — because slavery continued in Texas.”
However, she stated, with grace, “I feel that there’s a subconscious part of me that we’re celebrating freedom, but what is meant perhaps for whites may not be meant for me because of systemic racism that continues in this country. I celebrate and appreciate Juneteenth, but we cannot forget our history and the reality of today. Are we truly free people in this American society?”
Marcia continued, “It’s the very reason why there is a need for MaldenCORE —to dismantle racism — because we realize that there is systemic racism in America and the Emancipation Proclamation did not make everything happily ever after. That’s not a fact. Instead I know that the system just finds another way — and has found other ways to enslave — you know, mass incarceration. That happened soon after slavery ended, in 1866 — a year after this emancipation — whites were encouraged to become these police who would track down people who were no longer slaves. It became lucrative business to enslave black men. It didn’t just happen in a vacuum. It’s been going on for some time.”
Marcia said, “America has some ugly history particularly in regard to Black Americans that, in my opinion, they want to leave behind and [say] ‘let’s forget it’. The problem is that we cannot and we should not. The thing is, we’re still being targeted just because [of] the color of our skin. So, there’s a very conscious fear for us, as Black people living in America.”
Marcia concluded, “So we have to face the ugly truth and say, “This is wrong.” It’s a heavy task to take on. I think that’s why the Juneteenth holiday was so important because we could exhale and say, ‘This is a time to come together’ and feel good about each other. I think MaldenCORE can be very proud.”
Erga’s statement at the end of her interview is central to the theme of Juneteenth: “I think we have to center humanity when we approach this topic and we approach these stories and really be able to tell it.” In conclusion, Erga said that “we need to be mindful and intentional about connecting all the dots.”