Juneteenth celebration this Sunday to focus on African-Americans' accomplishments and resiliency

Shawna Hawk, executive director of the Women of Color in Leadership Movement, said this year's Juneteenth celebration will focus on African- Americans' contributions, accomplishments, and resiliency.

The Olympia City Council, on Tuesday, proclaimed June 19, 2023, as Juneteenth.

Juneteenth event Sunday at Rebecca Howard Park

The Women of Color in Leadership Movement will host the community celebration festival at Rebecca Howard Park on Sunday, June 18, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

"I hope it is a catalyst for African-American visible presence in our community," Hawk said of the celebration at the council meeting.

She added, "I hope it also helps further the actual breaking of the ground of the Rebecca Howard Park because we need the space… a place where we can honor the vast number of black pioneers that came to this area, founded things, started things, contributed both present and past."

According to Hawk, they plan to showcase pioneers in the community at the new park.

She related that during slavery, slave owners would give enslaved people one day of celebration and freedom. This day allowed them to trade goods, play music, and share their culture. Hawk shared that the marketplace has a significant history for African Americans. 

As an example, Hawk mentioned Congo Square in New Orleans, also known as Louis Armstrong Park. She said that even today, celebrations are held to honor this tradition. 

She also mentioned that there would be roller-skating this year for the youth.

Proclamation

Olympia has urged all residents to become more aware of the significance of this celebration in African-American history and its role in the heritage and the heritage of the nation, and the city.

Black people in the United States have celebrated Juneteenth for more than 150 years. Thurston County has observed the same for over 40 years.

In 2007, Washington State officially declared Juneteenth as a recognized holiday, and in 2021, the state formally declared Juneteenth as an official state holiday.

Juneteenth started when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved Americans in Confederate territory were free. It paved the way for the passage of the 13th Amendment, formally abolishing slavery in the United States.

The proclamation said, “The word about the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation was delayed some two and one-half years, to June 19, 1865, when U.S. Army troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to read General Order Number Three, informing residents that all enslaved people were now free.”