Juneteenth celebration at Southside

By Pete Angie
 
This coming weekend Juneteenth will be remembered in Ithaca with a celebration at the Southside Community Center. The event marks a crucial day in American history, particularly for African-Americans.
 
In June of 1865 Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with a few thousand federal troops to occupy the former confederate state. On June 19, from the villa where he was headquartered, Granger read a number of general orders outlining how things were going to be in Texas now that the Civil War was over.
 
The orders dictated that the state government of Texas was now illegitimate, that confederate soldiers and officials must report for parole, and how cotton was to be bought and sold with government oversight. General Order Number 3, however, was the one that sparked pandemonium and celebration: “The people of Texas are informed that…all slaves are now free.”
 
The order went on to state that there would be “absolute equality” of personal and property rights between former masters and former slaves. The news was delivered to the enslaved African Americans in Galveston two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in Washington.
 
Many of the former slaves who heard the news left the plantations and headed north. Those who remained in Galveston, however, marked June 19 the following year with a celebration. The term Juneteeth was a combination of June and 19th, but the day was also dubbed Emancipation Day. Slowly, recognition of the day spread to neighboring states.
 
Banned from gathering in many public parks, African-Americans in different cities bought pieces of land specifically for the event. It was a time to celebrate their freedom, and to encourage one another in the midst of a hostile, segregated country.
 
“We really want to be intentional about the message; the fact that it commemorates the emancipation of all African American slaves,” says Jennifer Forbes of the Southside Community Center. Forbes is chairperson of this year’s Juneteeth organizing committee and sees the day not just as an important one for the African-American community, but for all Americans. “When it comes to the importance of what Juneteeth is, we should all want that,” she says, “That was the time every African American understood I, too, am human.”
 
This year’s celebration at Southside will feature a youth talent show, live music (which band is yet to be determined), drumming, the GIAC Jumpers and food, raffles, prizes and activities. There will also be a fashion show featuring local designer Leanora Erica Mims, and “bold, brilliant and beautiful” apparel from local stores including Plato’s Closet and the Mary Durham Boutique.
 
Due to transitions in staff at Southside, the festival did not occur last year, so this coming weekend marks the return of Juneteeth to Ithaca since it was last held in 2014. Fifteen planning committee members and 20 volunteers have worked to make the event take place, and funding for the event has been provided by a Tompkins County Tourism Grant, registration fees and sales of food and merchandise.
 
Since it was first commemorated in 1866, Juneteeth has spread across the country. Texas made it an official state holiday in 1980, and 45 states currently recognize it in some way. Governor George Pataki first gave official New York State commemoration to the day in 2004.
 
The Juneteeth event at Southside will be held on Saturday, June 18, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Community members are encouraged to bring drums, horns or any other instruments to the festival. “We are all one. It’s about celebrating that,” adds Forbes.
For more information, visit www.ssccithaca.org/juneteenth.html.