Juneteenth’s Breakout Year Revs Up City

With art, dance, food, music, books, even a group bike ride, New Haven marked Juneteenth for more than three days running, with a celebratory and fighting spirit.

New Haven has celebrated Juneteenth before — but perhaps never as fully as this weekend. (And click here for a story about how the NHFD has embraced the holiday as a department for the first time.) That marked a national trend, as this is the first year Juneteenth is a federal holiday, and only the first or second time some New Haveners celebrated it.

It was my first time celebrating Juneteenth, as it was not something my family grew up celebrating. I was eager to learn more about what the holiday means to the community. I found myself at four different events across the city. And those were just some of the events taking place.

On Friday, the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven kicked off the holiday weekend with the raising of the Juneteenth flag outside of the Stetson Public Library. A dozen community members gathered to celebrate the holiday, learn the history and meaning of Juneteenth, and honor those who had come before. 

Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 when 250,000 enslaved people in Galveston Bay, Texas were told of their freedom two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It thus marks June 19 as the United States’ ​“second independence day.”

Hanan Hameen and Diane Brown started organizing Juneteenth events in New Haven in 2013 and started the official New Haven chapter of official chapter of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation. 

“It’s about being together and it’s about community,” Hameen told the Stetson crowd. ​“And it’s about being open to being free, truly free.”

As Father’s Day falls on Juneteenth this year, one of the themes for celebrations was ​“Fathers: Fighters for Freedom.” The Coalition chose to highlight the work on Thomas Daniels, who founded Father Cry Too, a New Haven support group for fathers who have lost their children to gun violence.

When he lost his only son 13 years ago, Daniels sought out other men who had lost their children to seek advice. ​“I was told, Just deal with it,’” he recalled. ​“But we know today that it’s OK to not be OK.”

Recognizing the need for support, Daniels started the group to help other men heal and process their own losses and debunk stereotypes surrounding Black fathers. ​“My son was my everything and still is,” he said.

“Fathers Cry Too” is not just a statement, Daniels said. It is also a movement towards freedom. 

On Saturday, hundreds came together on Ashmun Street to celebrate Juneteenth at the CT Violence Intervention Center for young people at risk of violence, or an event hosted by The Descendants of the CT 29th Colored Regimentm the Kiyama Movement, Hands on Moving, and the Amistad Committee. The event featured line dancing, painting, food trucks, vendor booths, history lessons, free vaccines, and live music.

“This is my second year doing Juneteenth,” said Jesse Wolf, a local artist running a community painting booth. ​“I came for the experience. Watching this whole thing grow is pretty cool too. There were less people last year, so seeing it build and build is great.” 

Nyzae James (pictured above), owner of Bamn Books, participated in the event. She started celebrating Juneteenth about five years ago. At the CT VIP event, she said the holiday has come to have significant meaning for her and her work.

“For me, Juneteenth is about celebrating liberation movements all around, especially the Black arts movement and Black liberation, cause we aren’t free until we all are free. I really wanna focus on that, especially with the books that I have,” James said. ​“Reading enables to us to creatively reimagine the social structures around us. With knowledge and imagination we can collectively bring positive change to our communities especially if we throw in a little love and responsibility.”

James company sells books about political prisoners and revolutionaries in exile, leaders of the focivil rights movement, and people who are still fighting for liberation today. 

On Saturday evening, the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven hosted their mainstage Juneteenth event, curated by Hanan Hameen and in partnership with the Arts and Ideas Festival.

Amid raindrops, Jesse ​“Cheese” Kilpatrick Hameen II and his band Elevation got the crowd dancing with his powerful drumming and smooth jazz. Hameen’s selections kept with the theme of fatherhood, playing Hanan’s Groove, a song he wrote for his daughter since ​“she always has had a groove ever since she was a little girl.”

The Bambara Drum Dance Ensemble from the Bronx followed Hameen and kept the crowd on their feet to end the night.

Finally, on Sunday, I attended a Juneteenth bike tour organized by the Black & Brown Soul Cyclists as a part of the Arts and Ideas festival. More than 30 bikers attended this tour across New Haven, stopping at sites of key historical relevance in Black local history, from the Amistad Memorial to Grove Street Cemetery to Criscuolo Park. 

It was a great way to enjoy the sunshine, learn about local black history, and celebrate Father’s Day. 

A fourth Juneteenth event is scheduled at Stetson Library again Monday at 2 p.m.

For me and the many others I spoke with, this weekend of celebration served as a way to hold gratitude for those who came before and motivation to continue fighting for our liberation.

As James summed it up, ​“A lot of people think that the fight is done because we have civil rights, but the fight is far from finished. So I just want to keep pushing that, keep people inspired and keep people moving.”