Honoring The Past and Building On The Promise

Juneteenth in Palm Beach County

By: Julie Khanna www.spadymarketplace.org/ | @spadymuseum

Sometimes referred to as, “America’s Second Independence Day,” Juneteenth honors June 19, 1865 when 2000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and announced that the enslaved black population (over 250,000 men, women and children) in the state were free by executive decree.

Designated as a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth is celebrated in a variety of ways across the country - public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, feasting on red foods and drinks like red velvet cake and fruit punch and hosting family and community barbecues.

Locally, Healthier Delray Beach and the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum - a Delray Beach based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing Black history - are working with over 20 other organizations (including the City of Delray Beach and the local police and fire departments) to host the Juneteenth Think Tank on June 18 at Pompey Park in Delray Beach.

Focused on keeping local Black history at the forefront of the celebration, last year’s Juneteenth celebration featured a solemn ceremony in which folks gathered at the lynching site of Samuel Nelson - a Palm Beach County resident allegedly accused of assaulting a white woman in 1926. Working with the Equal Justice Initiative, the committee excavated the soil, dried and preserved it so it might be displayed at the Spady Museum.

This year, Spady Cultural Heritage Museum is an integral part of the cultural component of Juneenth Think Tank. Led by Charlene Farrington, Executive Director of the museum, Brian Knowles, manager of African, African American, Latino, Holocaust, and Gender Studies at the School

District of Palm Beach County, Rosalind Murray, Senior Criminal Justice Analyst at Palm Beach County and Alex Burns, a Delray Beach resident, small business owner, cultural historian and member of the Healthier Delray Beach steering committee, education is set to be a central theme.

Preserving Black history and showcasing the contributions of members of the African Diaspora in Florida and the U.S. is at the heart of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum’s mission.

“The Spady Museum will forever and always be involved in the education aspect because education, as well as preservation, is one of our pillars,” said Charlene.

Highlighting their commitment to education is the Spady Museum’s ongoing exhibit called Strong Communities Emerging: The Development of Coastal Communities which follows the journey newly freed enslaved people made to South Florida.

For those interested in seeing living history, the museum also offers a walking tour of Delray’s historical West Settlers Neighborhood - the home of pioneers from North Florida, the Bahamas and the Gullah Geechee coast who came to Delray in the 1800s and 1900s.

For the 2023 Juneteenth Think Tank, the Spady Museum has a full slate of activities planned.

The event starts with the Smoke In - the ceremonial grill lighting and also features a Setting of Intentions ceremony, a prayer service and prayer breakfast led by a collaboration of local churches.

Following that is a collaborative talk to engage the community on housing, emotional, physical and financial wellbeing and top of mind topics. The three panelists will be available for questions and answers and have follow up activities scheduled to keep attendees engaged long after the event ends.

The culminating event of the day is a talent explosion where local performers will take the stage - dancing, singing and drumming.

Additionally, there will be vendors, resources and artifacts on display throughout the day and since it wouldn’t be a

Juneteenth event without good food, the Spady Museum will also be hosting a BBQ Rib Cook-Off.

Admission is free and everyone is invited and encouraged to attend this event celebrating this day of Black freedom, friends, family, food and fun.

For more information, please see the flyer in this issue of The Well of PBC or visit The Spady Museum’s Events Page by clicking here. https://www.spadymarketplace.org/events-timeline/#

The Reservoir is the cultural space for contributors to highlight customs, celebrations, holidays, rituals, recipes, and more. To contribute, send your article ideas to thewell@bewellpbc.org with “The Reservoir” in the subject line.