VAN CORTLANDT PARK CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH BY HOSTING THE
By Stephanie Ehrlich Photo Credit: Robert Benimoff
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tradition Negro spiritual, I Want Jesus to Walk With Me, on viola. The Enslaved African Legacy in Van Cortlandt Park Project is a combined effort, led by the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance in concert with Van Cortlandt House Museum and Kingsbridge Historical Society, and in partnership with NYC Parks. The group works with the Enslaved People Project Task Force Steering Committee made up of residents, activists and historians. The Bronx was Lenape land up until the 17th century. As colonists took over New York and slavery became the main economic driver in the state, the area now known as Van Cortlandt Park became a plantation. The prominent Van Yahaya Kamate
Photo Credit: Robert Benimoff
n Saturday, June 19, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance hosted an event to commemorate Juneteenth National Independence Day declared a federal holiday only two days prior to the celebration. The morning consisted of the consecration of a location in the park determined to be the site of an African Burial Ground with a Libation Ceremony presided over by Chief Baba Neil Clarke, accompanied by Khuent Rose on the steelpan. The day’s program included remarks from elected officials and community leaders as well as entertainmnt such as African drumming performed by Yahaya Kamate; the singing of Lift Every Voice and Ain’t That Good News, traditional Negro spiritual songs sung by Beverly FlemingCamejo; The reading of a poem written by Carole Boston Weatherford Freedom Fighter by Ashley Hart Adams, accompanied by bassoonist Kika Wright; and Judith Insell, Executive Director of The Bronx Arts Ensemble, performed another PAGE 4
