WORDS Tara Crutchfield
Juneteenth Celebration Mark your calendar for the 2021 Juneteenth Celebration in Winter Haven later this month. This free, family-friendly event celebrating African American history and culture will be hosted by the City of Winter Haven at Lake Maude Recreational Park on June 19 from 1 pm to 8 pm. All are welcome – spread the word, says City of Winter Haven Special Event & Marketing Coordinator Marissa Barnes. “Bring your blankets and lawn chairs and just spread out and enjoy the ambiance. It’s going to be so much fun!”
for The City of Winter Haven in October of 2019. Though this is the first year the City is hosting and sponsoring a Juneteenth event, The Historic Pughsville Association (HPA) has celebrated emancipation on May 20, or May Day, for many years. “It’s celebrated throughout Florida as being the day that the emancipation was proclaimed in Tallahassee. That’s when Florida slaves were notified of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended,” explained Barnes.
As set forth by the Juneteenth Celebration Committee, the mission for the event is to “bring appreciation and recognition of African American history by creating an atmosphere of unity through a modern-day celebration of heritage that educates, engages the broader community, and inspires future change-makers.”
With the sentiment, “None of us are free, until all of us are free,” in mind, Barnes proposed a community Juneteenth event in Winter Haven. Barnes spoke to the importance of Juneteenth celebrations and observances in communities around the country. “Most cities across the United States celebrate our country’s freedom on the Fourth of July with a firework display or with a celebration of patriotism, and that’s great. But, for some African Americans, that kind of misses the mark because that wasn’t the day that they were freed,” she said. “I think for a local municipality to acknowledge that history and want to celebrate it and find value in it is a huge thing. Not only are we saying, ‘We see you,’ in that celebration, but we also want to meet you and provide the resources that you need to celebrate who you are. Whether that’s through a race for Special Olympics or a Hispanic Heritage celebration, or the community Menorah lighting – we want to make sure that we are meeting these individuals and celebrating them genuinely and authentically for who they are. [...] I thought that was important for the City of Winter Haven. Not because celebrations for the African American
June 19, also known as Juneteenth or Emancipation Day, marks the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, General Gordon Granger and Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to relay news that the Civil War was over and the enslaved were free. To celebrate the historical significance of Juneteenth, the community is invited to gather for a day of music, food, entertainment, and education. The idea for a Juneteenth Celebration was first pitched in early 2020 by The City of Winter Haven Special Event & Marketing Coordinator. Marissa Barnes was born and raised in Lakeland. She graduated from Harrison School for the Arts and went on to graduate from Florida A&M University. She began working
havenmagazines.com
40
