IU celebrates emancipation

People adorned in festive African dress and costumes marching and chanting to the lively beat of bongos were a welcome change on Jordan Ave., which has heard nothing but the dull drumming of freshman feet for the past few weeks. \nThe colorful parade kicked off the 7th Annual Juneteenth festival Saturday in Bryan Park. The celebration commemorated the end of slavery, which occurred 140 years ago this June.\n"I really liked the parade and the music," said senior Jasmine Wright, who marched in the parade with her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta. "(The music) makes you feel like you're actually in Africa. Everybody was getting into the music and chanting and waving at everybody else. I think everyone who was there did feel very close to the meaning of Juneteenth." \nWhile many of the people at the celebration knew the meaning of this celebration, there were several visitors who came to the event for the first time or who did not know what the event signifies.\nIU graduate Theresa Schmieder stumbled upon the event when she went to the park to "relax," but she postponed her planned activities and strolled the festival, beach towel in hand.\n"I'm just taking it all in. I really enjoy learning about the festival," she said. "I knew nothing about it (before) so I'm just going to tables, running into people that I know. I guess I never would have thought of it before. It's good to expand your knowledge."\nUnlike Schmieder, Andrew Fowlkes of Indianapolis had been to several Juneteenth festivals but did not know that the event commemorated the end of slavery until he came to Bloomington's celebration.\n"The realization (has made) a stronger impact on me," he said. "I think it's important."\nFowlkes said his favorite part of the celebration was "tasting some of the food," as he munched on his plate of roast turkey, fish, rice and greens. \nVisitors could choose from a wide variety of African cuisine, including many fish and chicken dishes, plantains, rice, greens and curried goat, the favorite of many guests who enjoy the very traditional dishes.\nThe booths themselves were as diverse as the selection of food. There were vendors with tables of African and vintage jewelry, African art, figures carved from wood and hand-designed African fashions. The Mathers Museum had a booth with photographs of black people in the Bloomington community from the 20th century. \nIU's African Studies Department and African Students' Association had a booth filled with artifacts from Tanzania, West Africa and North Africa. There were bowls made from gourds, fans and baskets woven from tree fibers, the beaded sandals of a Masai warrior, cloth wraps and an authentic batik from the Benin Republic. The students chatted with the booth's frequent visitors, answered questions, and handed out pamphlets.\n"There's a lot of misconception about Africa (in the general public) so we want to give people information because people think that Africa is one solid country," said Mohamed Yunus Rafiq, the vice president of the ASA and a native of Tanzania. "Africa is very diverse and it's hard to put it in a simplified form. It's a (continent) of importance because most African Americans can trace their roots back to Africa."\nRafiq thought of the day as a good way for people to come out and learn what Africa is really like.\n"Usually people rely on the media for information but I think it's really nice when we meet people face to face and (they can talk to) someone from that area who has been there and knows (about things)," he said.\nIn addition to the booths, there was musical entertainment, a play about the Underground Railroad, poetry recitations and a keynote speech made by IU alumnus Leroy Robinson.\nRobinson stressed the importance of remembering the true message and painful history behind Juneteenth. He strongly advised that people think of how they can use the past to better the future, and not think of Juneteenth as a day to simply relax and enjoy the food and entertainment.\nWhile people agreed with Robinson, they also thought that the food and entertainment were crucial to recognizing the significance of the event and learning about their heritage.\n"We're all here trying to get an education," said senior Matthew Williams, who walked in the parade with his fraternity Phi Beta Sigma and helped run a booth put together by members of the greek community.\nWilliams thought that the festival offered plenty of opportunities to learn, but that people were also "trying to kick back and enjoy a hot day."\nWright agreed that the best way to educate people is to come together to celebrate.\n"I think you can read a book and learn about slavery and our freedom, but I think one of the best ways to learn about our culture is sitting down together and talking and getting to learn (about) each other one-on-one," she said.\nThis spirit of togetherness carried on from booth to booth throughout the entire day. Holly Bethune, an intern at the Mathers Museum, described the festival as having "a very cool atmosphere on a very hot day."\n"The music is great and I smell all this wonderful food," she said. "Everyone is so incredibly friendly -- everybody stops and says hello and talks for a few minutes, and people have their pets out."\nOyibo Afoaku, the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and one of the people in charge of the event, was very pleased with the way it turned out.\n"Each year has been better than the last, and this is the best (celebration) we've had," she said.\nAfoaku was very appreciative of all of the hard work that went into making Juneteenth a success.\n"I want to thank the committee members; each one of them did a lot of work for this to happen," she said. "We want to thank the community, too, for it's support -- the police officers who worked the parade, the groups that came from Indianapolis, the vendors, everybody. We all put in a lot of work and it paid off. If we hadn't come together and done it, it wouldn't have turned out as well"