The advent of Juneteenth as a federal holiday this year also saw the day more widely celebrated than ever in 黑料吃瓜网. While the state鈥檚 larger and more diverse cities have long held annual Juneteenth events, many of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 smaller towns also marked the occasion this year.
Ridgefield, Norwalk, Portland and Windham were among those getting in on the celebrations. Middletown and Manchester both held events described as 鈥渋naugural鈥� or 鈥�1st annual.鈥�
In West Hartford, the commemoration included the unveiling of a huge mural celebrating Black achievement.
The centerpiece of the artwork features Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., flanked by other civil rights leaders.
Adrienne Billings-Smith, founder of Concerned Parents of Color of West Hartford, and chair of the town鈥檚 Juneteenth committee, said she hopes the mural opens up conversations.
鈥淲hat we wanted was a journey to freedom, so West Hartford鈥檚 history,鈥� she said.
The mural enshrines the names of many lost to violence.
鈥淲hether that be police brutality, whether that be being a trans person of color -- those names are there -- and we also have names of individuals who were enslaved right here in West Hartford,鈥� Billings-Smith said.
That includes a representation of Bristow -- an enslaved man who bought his freedom from Thomas Hart Hooker in 1775. His manumission paper is held by the 黑料吃瓜网 Historical Society.
There are also plenty of more recent local connections, including a section that Billings-Smith calls an 鈥渉omage to the women of West Hartford.鈥�
鈥淕ertrude Blanks, the first African American woman to graduate from Hall High School, to Judy Casperson, the first Black woman to hold local office for our town council, and now Rep. Tammy Exum, the first Black woman to hold state office out of West Hartford.鈥�
Exum was in attendance to see her likeness unveiled on the wall of the town library.
鈥淭his is bigger than anything I would ever have imagined,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he honor, the awe of this is wonderful, but it鈥檚 overwhelmingly amazing for me.鈥�
Exum was the first Black member of the town鈥檚 Board of Education in 2013, the first Black woman to represent the 19th District, and will shortly be the first Black woman who will be part of the state鈥檚 redistricting committee.
鈥淭oo many firsts,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause I am amazed at that; that in 2021, I would be the first anything,鈥� she said.
Elsewhere in the state, the Mystic Seaport Museum held a joint celebration with the replica schooner and slaving vessel Amistad. The two-hour event included live music, a panel discussion and tours of the ship.
鈥淭he fight to combat racism is not over, and there is something everyone can do,鈥� said Sarah Cahill, director of education at the Mystic Seaport Museum. 鈥淎nd so I really love this idea of participants making some kind of a commitment during the ceremony, just in their way, nothing has to be too overwhelming for them but in their own way to continue to promote social justice.鈥�
Social justice was front and center during a virtual Juneteenth celebration hosted by New England Health Care Employees Union District 1199 SEIU, the union that has fought for higher wages and better working conditions for nursing home caregivers and other essential workers in 黑料吃瓜网 during the pandemic.
鈥淲e are descended from people who were brought to this continent in bondage,鈥� said union leader Rob Baril. 鈥淎ll of us on this call understand what it is to have to fight for the most basic rights and dignity.鈥�
He made clear the commemoration of Juneteenth and the end of chattel slavery has more than a symbolic significance for his members.
鈥淲e understand that the face of caregiving, the face of health care workers in this country is the face of a Black woman. Black women who labored in the master鈥檚 hall, caring for the master鈥檚 children, caring for the master鈥檚 wife," Baril said.
The meeting was addressed by the Rev. William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People鈥檚 Campaign. He said he has trouble with the concept of Juneteenth being a celebration.
鈥淵ou can never relax or retreat when it comes to standing against injustice,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd in a real sense I hope that that鈥檚 really what this Juneteenth -- I want to say commemoration -- is really about. It should be a time when we reconsecrate ourselves.鈥�
And Barber had uncompromising words for the federal politicians who moved swiftly last week to make Juneteenth an official holiday this year.
鈥淲hat could make supporting Juneteenth holiday a form of cynical hypocrisy?鈥� he asked. 鈥淵ou vote, as the entire United States Senate did, unanimously for Juneteenth to be a holiday, but at the same time you are refusing to restore the Voting Rights Act. That鈥檚 cynical hypocrisy.鈥�
WSHU鈥檚 Brian Scott Smith contributed to this report.
