Numerous Juneteenth celebrations were held across the state over the weekend with more to come throughout the week and into the coming weekend.
This is the second year Juneteenth has been recognized as a state holiday and the fourth year since it was recognized federally. So, for some, the holiday is relatively new.
It’s particularly important as Juneteenth celebrations grow and more people celebrate, to “remember the why,” said Shemeka Bogan with Strong Roots Foundation, a group that helped sponsor the Northside Juneteenth Celebration.
“This is really a learning experience for a lot of people,” Bogan said.
Juneteenth marks the day more than 250,000 Black people were freed in the state of Texas by executive decree. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, this mass freedom was not won until June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas.
“We don’t look at it as just like, ‘OK, it’s just a Black holiday, only Black people can celebrate it,’” Bogan said. “We want white people to celebrate it. We want our Latino brothers and sisters to celebrate it. We want everybody to celebrate with us and understand why it’s an important holiday for us.”
The past weekend’s Northside Juneteenth Celebration started with a free movie screening at the Capri Theater Friday night. On Saturday, a family festival was held on the Lyndale block of West Broadway Avenue and an ice cream social at North Commons Pool Sunday. The goal of the week is to celebrate community, culture and creativity in the Black community, Bogan said.
“You have youth groups that are able to come out and showcase their talents and understand why they’re doing that,” she said. “We have art projects that are reflective of different cultures. We have storytelling where our elders are coming in and just telling the history and the stories behind Juneteenth. You forget how far they have come over the years and the different things that they’ve seen. It’s one thing to read something from a history book, but it’s another thing to hear it directly from someone else who is a trusted community member.”
In its second year as a state holiday, Bogan said she feels like Juneteenth celebrations have tripled in the state with many Minnesota cities launching their own Juneteenth celebrations.
“It’s not just in Minneapolis,” Bogan said. “It’s just been really awesome to see different communities express themselves. It’s really nice to have so many events that are welcoming of all cultures in celebration of Black culture.”
How Juneteenth became recognized as a national holiday
In 2021, the bill to make Juneteenth a national holiday led by Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., was signed into law by President Joe Biden. During the Saturday Northside Juneteenth Family Festival, Smith told the story about how this law came to be.
It started with Opal Lee, a woman born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1928. When Lee was 12 years old, her house was burned down by white rioters who were trying to drive her and her family out of town, Smith said.
“But she didn’t give up. She was resilient. She became a teacher and when she retired, she became an organizer and an activist,” Smith said.
Lee became one of the strongest advocates for Juneteenth to become a federal holiday and she delivered millions of petitions to Washington, D.C. That’s when Smith met Lee.
“She came to me and she talked to me about the importance of this and she said, ‘Tina, what are you going to do to make sure that Juneteenth becomes a holiday that we all can celebrate together?’ Miss Lee is not easy to say no to. She’s a feisty grandmother. I believe there are a few feisty grandmothers in this crowd today,” Smith said to the crowd at the event with her words met by nods of agreement.
When Kamala Harris became Vice President of the United States, she brought the bill to Smith who said she helped carry it over the finish line.
“It was one of the most meaningful things that I’ve had a chance to be a part of,” Smith said. “This story is about the story of power and activism and people working and never giving up. And that is also the story of the north side of Minneapolis.”
Winter Keefer
Winter Keefer is MinnPost’s Metro reporter. Follow her on Twitter or email her at wkeefer@minnpost.com.
