Juneteenth celebration marks 10 years in town

Although Juneteenth is not officially observed by the state of Indiana, this weekend the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center will commemorate its 10th year of bringing the celebration to IU and Bloomington.\nThe center’s Juneteeth festival is a free, two-day event that starts 7 p.m. Friday at Neal-Marshall. The “Evening of Remembrance” will include a lecture, a play and a ceremony titled “Unsung Heroes,” which will offer awards to those who worked year-round to improve the Bloomington community.\nBloomington’s Juneteeth parade starts 10 a.m. Saturday at the Neal-Marshall and ends at Bryan Park, where the festivities begin. Venders will sell clothing from Ghana and Mali as well as food. Musicians will play African music and teach attendees how to play drums and make their own. A pageant will allow participants to showcase traditional African clothing. \nNeal-Marshall Director Audrey McCuskey said it’s essential for everyone to recognize the holiday, not only to celebrate freedom, but to reflect on the responsibility that comes with it.\n“Freedom is in everyday life,” she said. “It’s an ongoing process, and it’s important to realize how important it is to be free.”\nThe holiday is traditionally celebrated June 19, the day in 1865 when word of the Emancipation Proclamation reached African-American slaves in Galveston, Texas, then the whole country. Juneteenth is the oldest holiday that recognizes the freedom of slaves. It’s also known as a day of reflection and remembrance of the way that slavery still affects Americans in their everyday lives.\nThe holiday is recognized as either an official state holiday or a state holiday observance in 26 states. Indiana is not one of them.\nEvent organizer Sachiko Higgins-Kante said citizens should first be aware of the existence of the holiday and celebrate it not only by attending celebrations, but by recognizing it in their everyday lives.\n“It comes from education,” she said. “It comes from learning more about yourself, learning about different movements and political issues and making changes your own community and home.”\nHiggins-Kante said she has worked with national organizations in efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday. In 1997, she and an IU group named Kwanzaa, Inc. worked to make it a celebration in the Bloomington community. Their efforts paid off in 1998 when the community celebration first started.\nHiggins-Kante said there should be a push from citizens to make Juneteenth recognized not only in Indiana, but in all 50 states.\n“It takes people,” she said. “You need to ask for it. If you don’t ask for it, you won’t receive it.”\nMcCulskey agreed with the idea and said citizens need to be aware of the holiday’s presence and the history that comes with it.\n“It has to do with the legislature,” she said. “It’s the responsibility of citizens to have it recognized.”\nThere will also be sign-ups in Bryan Park during the Juneteenth celebration where attendees can sign petitions to make the holiday recognized in the state of Indiana, Higgins-Kante said.\nJuneteenth grew as a celebration and is now widely recognized in the city of Bloomington, said Beverly Calender-Anderson, the director of Bloomington’s Safe and Civil City Program. She said the celebration brings together a diverse set of individuals and families so that they can relax and have fun yet remember a terrible time in American history.\n“It’s a time to remember where we were as a country and where we are as a country now,” she said. “It focuses on us as Americans and how we overcome the legacy of slavery in some ways.”\nHiggins-Kante said the celebration in Bloomington has grown in ten years, but said she believes there is always room for change in the community.\n“The air has changed a lot,” she said. “But it’s more quiet and subtle. In general, people are pretty much decent and are moving along with the times.”