The annual holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the U.S. is being observed throughout the Northeast.
Juneteenth has been sporadically celebrated in the South as a black independence day going back to June 1865. The tradition didn't have a presence in the North until the early 1970s.
Linda Jackson-Chalmers with the African American Cultural Center of the Capital Region of Albany says Juneteenth, celebrated June 19th, eventually came to be known nationally as the ending of slavery. "The historical context of Juneteenth is that it is a state holiday in Texas because it delineates the ending of slavery in Texas, which did not occur until two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas did not comply with the edict of the freeing of the slaves through President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. And it took two and half years for the U.S. to intervene and provide an edict that slavery was ended across the nation."
In Springfield, the fourth annual Arise for Social Justice celebration of Juneteenth gets under way Friday at 4. The third annual Amherst Area Juneteenth Observation kicks off Friday at 5:30.
In Schenectady, Juneteenth opening ceremonies commence Friday evening at the African American Ancestral Burial Ground at Vale Cemetery, which was a stop on the "Underground Railroad." Betty Harper is co-chair. "On Friday we start with honoring our ancestors, and the Community Fathers of Schenectady are doing 'stop the violence' type of burial. And that's in Vale Cemetery in Schenectady at 6 p.m."
Plans are to have an 1880 horse-drawn hearse bearing a coffin by which the concept of slavery will be carried away. There is a program of song and oratory honoring the enslaved and abolitionists. Following the ceremony there will be an ice cream social. Harper says the holiday moves into high gear on Saturday, with festivities in Central Park running from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. "And we'll start out with zumba and bokwa in the pavilion. At 12 o'clock we have our opening ceremony, we have our fifth annual youth talent show, then we'll have a gospel segment this year, because normally we used to do Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but we cut Sunday down. Sunday was always all-gospel."
There will an assortment of food and craft vendors, a non-profit expo, historic displays, activities for kids and workshops for adults. NuEra, a group from Baltimore, will close out the day.
Juneteenth in Westchester County will be marked by a Saturday festival in Peekskill beginning 11 a.m. at Riverfront Green. A parade steps off at 2 p.m. downtown at Park & Broad Streets. Music and other festivities will continue at Riverfront Green from 4 to 8 p.m.
In Connecticut music, dancing and soul food will be featured Saturday night just outside Hartford at the New Britain Museum of American Art’s 15th annual Juneteenth celebration.
Gospelfest 2015 will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at First Congregational Church in Burlington.
The Juneteenth Celebration in Albany's Washington Park will run 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
