Local cities organize Juneteenth celebrations for Saturday

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with information about more events.

On June 19, 1865, enslaved Texans were freed, ending legal slavery in the United States. For more than three decades, the Freemasons of Fred U. Harris Lodge #70 have been celebrating the day — known as Juneteenth — with a community barbecue, and this year, there are at least three new South Sound celebrations.

“Juneteenth or Freedom Day commemorates the official independence of all Americans,” said DeeDee Anderson of Olympia, who’s organizing an informal Juneteenth Jubilee set for Saturday in Lacey’s Rainier Vista Park.

“This is not a new holiday,” she told The Olympian. “It is a holiday that is finally receiving the acknowledgment and awareness that it deserves.”

Javoen Byrd, one of the organizers of Omo Africa, the city of Olympia’s first Juneteenth celebration, said, “What Juneteenth represents is the U.S. saying, ‘We can’t do this anymore. This is a crime against humanity.’ ”

South Sound’s longest-running celebration of Juneteenth is the barbecue sponsored by the Freemasons of the Tumwater-based Harris Lodge, affiliated with the Prince Hall Freemasons. Saturday, June 19, is the 33rd barbecue they’ve put on. (In 2020, the event was paused, though the masons did provide meals to go.)

The Freemasons’ Juneteenth event includes talks on history, and prizes for those who attend, but the focus is on food, said Clarence Forrester of the Freemasons.

“We have the greatest barbecue ribs in the United States,” he told The Olympian. “We have barbecued chicken. We have hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans and all the trimmings that go with it. We provide cake.”

This year, he said, the food will be packaged to reduce any risk of COVID-19.

Juneteenth reflects the complicated history of slavery in the United States. The enslaved people in Texas weren’t officially granted their freedom until more than two years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which technically freed enslaved people only if they were living in Confederate states, and five months after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery.

Both public observances of Juneteenth and official recognition of the day’s significance are on the rise across the country, spurred by the growth of the racial justice movement. Most states now recognize the day as a holiday or day of observance, and it will become an official state holiday in Washington next year.

“With everything going on in our country, what Juneteenth represented in 1865 isn’t that different than what it represents in 2021,” said Byrd, who runs the nonprofit Hawk Foundation for Research and Education in African Culture. The foundation is collaborating with the Women of Color in Leadership Movement, Media Island International and the city of Olympia to put on the Olympia celebration, happening Saturday in the garden at Fertile Ground, near the Timberland Regional Library.

Omo Africa (omo means child or children in Yoruba) will feature drumming, dance, a community drum circle led by Byrd, food vendors and a presentation by the Buffalo Soldiers of Seattle, which celebrates the accomplishments of Black soldiers who served in the U.S. Army during the settlement of the West.

Music and food are a key part of the Juneteenth Jubilee, a collaboration among Anderson’s CARE Wellness Center, Multiculturally Minded Lewis County, the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council and other area businesses and nonprofit organizations.

“We’re all just really motivated to come together and celebrate freedom and promote inclusion,” she told The Olympian, adding that she sees Juneteenth as a celebration in the spirit of the Fourth of July.

“You want to bring your family out and bring your own chest of food and drinks,” she said. “There’s a sense of family and community. … There are a lot of populations that are still struggling with equality, but the point is to come together and celebrate the wins that we’ve had.”

Centralia’s Juneteenth celebration, organized by Multiculturally Minded and Centralia council member Mark Westley, will feature stories about Juneteenth history and Centralia founder George Washington, a Black man.

Juneteenth celebrations

• Omo Africa: 1-5 p.m. Saturday, June 19, Fertile Ground garden, 311 Ninth Ave. SE, Olympia
• Juneteenth Barbecue: Noon-4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 19, Regional Athletic Complex, 8345 Steilacoom Road SE, Lacey
• Juneteenth Jubilee in Lacey: 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 19, Rainier Vista Park, 5475 45th Ave. SE, Lacey
• Juneteenth in Centralia: 10 a.m. Saturday, June 19, George Washington Park, Main and Pearl streets, Centralia

This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.