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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. Special to WPCNR. March 4, 2004, UPDATED 10 A.M. E.S.T.: At a meeting in City Hall Wednesday evening, a community contingent of 40 persons, including representatives of the White Plains African-American community, the Common Council, civic and religious leaders decided on creating a recognition day for Black American heritage in 2005 which will have as its theme the celebration of June 19, the date which recognizes the freeing of the last slave in America, an occasion that Black Americans know as “Juneteenth.”
A Steering Committee was formed to be headed by Charlie Booth, Director of the Thomas A. Slater Center to plan the parade that will be part of the White Plains Juneteenth Celebration, and to create significant other events to make the day the start of a festive and solemn tradition in White Plains. According to Glen Hockley, speaking to WPCNR Thursday morning, this was a wonderful harmonious meeting and it was agreed to plan the event to take place in June, 2005, because of there not being enough time to organize the event for this year.
The first meeting of the Steering Committee will take place on March 24 at 7 P.M. back in City Hall, and the entire group will return for a planning meeting on April 28 at 7 P.M.
For more on June 19, go to http://www.elecvillage.com/juneteen.htm
Mr. Hockley, speaking to WPCNR Thursday morning said he was overwhelmed at the participation of so many Black leaders from the community and the support of the Mayor and Common Council. He described the spirit of the meeting and the vibrations in the room as “warm and solid.”
Hockley said Mayor Joseph Delfino opened the meeting in a “most gracious and understanding manner,” and that the meeting proceeded with Charlie Booth of the Slater Center directing traffic, listening to all who participated. Hockley noted that many Black leaders were there from all walks of life, including Mack Carter, Ted Lee, Bill Alexander, Monique Farrell, Michelle Tratoros, Bob Tuck, Bill Brown, Bill Campbell, Darrell Jenkins, four young persons and every member of the Common Council.
Hockley said he was very impressed with the way Mr. Booth ran the meeting and kept the discussion moving.
He noted that Reverend Jacob Stukes and Councilman Arnold Bernstein brought in the concept that the event being planned should be more than just a parade, but should also be one that benefits the community, with workshops dealing with various issues, working for progress.
He said a steering committee was formed to sort out ideas, and that the general theme of the special day would celebrate Juneteenth, the African-American Emancipation Day.
Juneteenth first took place in 1865 in Galveston, Texas, to celebrate the observance of African American Emancipation Day, June 19, 1865 and is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery.
Around the country, Juneteenth not only keynotes African American freedom, but salutes the education and the acievement of Black Americans in this country. Celebrations of the holiday across the country feature speeches, picnics, gatherings.
The Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln legally freed slaves in the Confederacy, but those in Delaware and Maryland were not freed until the Manumission Statutes. In Missouri and Kentucky, slaves were not set free until the 13th Amendment was passed in December, 1865.
The traditional date of celebrating Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger and his troops landed in Texas at Galveston to wrest Texas from the Confederacy was ordered to inform Texans that their slaves were then free. Texas had been the last Confederate State to refuse to free its slaves, waiting 2-1/2 years past the Emancipation Proclamation.
In 2004, 150 cities in 30 States recognize “Juneteenth Independence Day” and rejoice in it through community recognition of their African-American heritage.
