Rochester nonprofits to host Juneteenth celebration
This Saturday, the Rochester community will come together for a Juneteenth Jubilee Celebration at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park to honor the emancipation of the last enslaved people on June 19, 1865.
Co-hosted by the Rochester NAACP chapter, the nonprofit Journie, and other local partners, the event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and feature performances from local musicians, guest speakers, and family games.
The celebration will feature 18 vendors, including nonprofits and Black-owned businesses. At 11 a.m., an NAACP speaker will detail the history and significance of Juneteenth, followed by remarks from Nashauna Johnson-Lenoir, the founder of Journie. A Journie mentorship program member will graduate and a Miss Juneteenth will also be crowned.
This will be the second consecutive year Journie has helped spearhead Rochester’s Juneteenth event. Last year’s event came in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, amid nationwide protests and a global pandemic.
“There was a lot of tension in the country,” said Johnson-Lenoir. “I thought, how can I bring people together, what can I do right now?”
One year later, Juneteenth has been declared a national holiday by Congress and President Biden.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery on June 19, 1865, when a Union general informed the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation — more than two years after it was issued in 1863.
Nashauna Johnson-Lenoir
“I think the biggest part about the Jubilee Celebration is educating people and giving them a sense of history,” said Johnson-Lenoir. “Who they are and how far we’ve come.”
Also during Saturday’s event, Police Liaison William Whitehorn and City Council Member Kelly Kirkpatrick will deliver remarks.
Jersey Joe’s will serve food at noon, with a free hot dog and chips for children 12 and under. A games area will include musical chairs, bubble blowing contests, and mask painting.
At 1 p.m., there will be a basketball game with the Rochester Police Department and community members from T&K Basketball.
Artists will perform every hour including LaSonya Natividad and The Soul Train, Alert Sleep, Jae Havoc, GPE Production and Ryan the Artisan. DJ Casper, creator of the Cha Cha Slide and featured on Chance the Rapper’s latest album, will perform at 5:30 p.m.
Lee Green, founder of Greenhouse Grafix, who designed the event’s logo and flyers, noted that the entire community is invited to attend. “I would love to see people of all nationalities come out there and celebrate,” he said.
Haley Handelman is a summer news intern for Med City Beat. A graduate of Mayo High School, she now studies at Northwestern University.
