Juneteenth has more to celebrate
More Twin Citians are discovering daylong event
BY JUDITH YATES BORGER
Pioneer Press
June 13, 2003
When Roderic Southhall worked as a coordinator 10 years ago for the Juneteenth celebration of the elimination of slavery, he planned for 25,000 people to attend the event.
He's working the same job again this year, but this time he's planning on 45,000 people showing up Saturday at TheodoreWirthPark in Minneapolis for the Juneteenth celebration. The daylong event commemorates June 19, 1865, the day slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed — two years earlier — by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Eighteen years ago in the Twin Cities, the Juneteenth celebration started as a small street celebration in the Oak ParkCommunity Center in Minneapolis.
"The numbers exploded when the celebration moved to WirthPark," Southhall said.
The founders moved the event to Wirth because they wanted to celebrate on a grassy area. A side benefit, according to Southhall, was that the event became more approachable to a broader community.
"It's a beautiful park, and in the past people weren't taking advantage of it," Southhall said. "Now, when you say 'WirthPark,' people say, 'That's where the Juneteenth celebration is.' "
TheodoreWirthPark is located at Olson Memorial Highway east of Minnesota 100. Much of the celebration will be near WirthLake in the park.
This year there will be at least 35 food vendors, representatives from 45 health and wellness organizations, and more than 100 artists who work as potters, weavers and painters demonstrating their work in an arts village and selling their work in a freedom market place, Southhall said.
A pancake breakfast for seniors will kick off the event at 8 a.m. General Mills Networks of Champions and the Minnesota Council on Black Aging will be sponsors.
Although the breakfast is intended to pay homage to African-American seniors, Southhall emphasized that it is open to all seniors.
"Juneteenth is a celebration for everyone," Southhall said.
Theater will play a big role in the celebration. There will be two stages, a main stage and a youth stage, where family, youth and community-oriented gospel, R&B, hip-hop, storytelling, dance, poetry and spoken word performances will be held.
In addition, Juneteenth will collaborate on a production presented by Soulistic Playhouse, a new troupe that will perform "for Colored Girls and Black Boys: the Remix" today and Saturday and June 20-21 at SabathaniCommunity Center in Minneapolis.
Stephenetta Harmon, executive director of Soulistic Playhouse, which was formed in December, said individuals from the 13-member troupe will be dispersed throughout the Juneteenth crowd Saturday and occasionally break into pieces of the play.
"The idea is to be interactive with the audience, like they did during ancient Griot times," she said.
Pat Phillips, who is working as the arts development coordinator for the celebration, said the arts village also will offer interactive participation with weaving demonstrations and beading. There also will be a spray-paint team working on shirts with an anti-tobacco theme, she said.