“LET FREEDOM RING”: From left, Human Services Commission member Larry Spruill, Civil Rights Commission Chair Fern Spruill, and Councilman Leighton Newlin raise the Juneteenth flag at Monument Hall to commemorate Juneteenth 2023. (Princeton Symphony Orchestra staff photo)

By Donald Gilpin

Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. after the Civil War, is next Wednesday, June 19, and celebrations will be taking place at Monument Plaza and Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton, at various other venues in Central Jersey, and across the nation.

Events are also scheduled in the area for Saturday, June 15, with additional celebrations over the weekend of June 22-23.

It was on June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, that enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free. African Americans have celebrated that day since the late 1800s, and in 2021 Juneteenth, on June 19, officially became a national holiday. The holiday is also called Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day.

The day’s events on June 19 in Princeton begin at 1 p.m. at Monument Plaza in front of Monument Hall with a Juneteenth Flag Raising ceremony and remarks by Princeton Councilmembers Leticia Fraga and Leighton Newlin, and Municipal Administrator Bernard Hvozdovic, Jr. Soloists from the Princeton Festival will conclude the ceremony with a performance of James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Newlin shared some thoughts from a draft of remarks he will deliver at the Flag Raising ceremony. He described the original 1865 Juneteenth as “a pivotal moment in our nation’s journey toward living up to the self-evident truth that all people are created equal.”

Urging all to “fortify our resolve” against the threat of autocracy, he continued, “Let this Juneteenth fire up our determination to preserve and perfect the noble vision of equality enshrined in our founding.”

At 4 p.m. the festivities continue at Morven Museum & Garden with a community celebration including crafts and educational activities, food by Black-owned business Tipple & Rose, and an antique phone booth recording studio. Visitors can record their own reflections, thoughts, hopes, and dreams for Juneteenth and the future as part of the “Let Freedom Ring” Voices of Princeton oral history project.

Community partners include the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and its Princeton Festival, the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, the Arts Council of Princeton, the Historical Society of Princeton, and the Princeton Public Library, as well as Art Against Racism, Not in Our Town Princeton, Morven Museum & Garden, the Municipality of Princeton, Passage Theatre, Paul Robeson House of Princeton, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Tipple & Rose, West Windsor Arts Council, and YWCA Princeton.

Culminating the celebrations will be a concert at 7 p.m. in Morven’s Performance Pavilion, featuring Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass and other choral selections with Westminster Choir College’s Vinroy D. Brown Jr. conducting the joint choral groups of the Capital Singers of Princeton, Caritas Chamber Chorale, and Elmwood Concert Singers, along with vocalists from St. David the King in West Windsor and Union Baptist Church in Trenton.

Highlights of the evening will include Mark Miller’s “I Believe,” Marques L.A. Garrett’s “Sing Out, My Soul,” traditional spirituals, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as well as remarks by Union Baptist Church’s the Rev. Simeon Spencer. Tickets for the evening concert start at $10 for adults and $5 for children. Events earlier in the day are free. Visit princetonsymphony.org/festival.

June 13 Start

The Mercer County Library System gets the ball rolling with a virtual presentation of “What We Commemorate on Juneteenth” at 6:30 p.m. on June 13. University of Maryland History Professor Richard Bell will discuss the struggles of enslaved African Americans during the Civil War and the events leading up to their emancipation. For registration and further information, visit mcl.org.

The pace picks up on Saturday, June 15 with the African American Collaborative of Mercer County’s 4th Annual Juneteenth Festival at the Mercer County Park Festival Grounds at 8 p.m., featuring live music, numerous performances, multiple food trucks, and more, all hosted by Kevin “Deekay” Francois.

In the morning of June 15 at Mercer County Park, cyclists will be participating in the Juneteenth Freedom Day Ride. Visit juneteenthridenj.com for registration and further details.

Also on June 15, the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) will be hosting its third annual Juneteenth celebration, “Freedom Forward,” from 12 to 4 p.m. at 189 Hollow Road in Skillman. Live gospel music, original plays, interactive games, and a variety of cuisines will be offered. The SSAAM promises “a rich tapestry of African American history in the Sourland Mountain region” and “an immersive cultural journey.” Visit ssaamuseum.org for tickets.

The festivities continue through the following weekend with a business-oriented event on Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Hamilton Center for Health and Wellness Conference Center, 3100 Quakerbridge Road and history-oriented events at Washington Crossing Historic Park on Sunday, June 23, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Supporting Black-owned businesses in the Mercer County area, a Juneteenth Black-owned Business Marketplace will take place at the RWJ Conference Center in the Clover Square shopping plaza on Sloan Avenue and Quakerbridge Road sponsored by the NJ Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at The College of New Jersey, Mercer County Office of Economic Development, and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – Hamilton RWJ Barnabas Health.

There will be shopping, food, a live DJ, and prizes and giveaways, as well as the opportunity for people from all backgrounds to learn about Black-owned businesses in the Mercer County area and “discover the hidden jewels in the community,” according to the SBDC website at njsbdc.com.

Washington Crossing Historic Park will be hosting a variety of educational and entertainment events on June 23, starting at 3 p.m. with lectures on the contributions of Black soldiers during the American Revolution by Noah Lewis and during the Civil War and Juneteenth by 1st Sgt. Algernon Ward Jr. Lewis is a living historian and portrayer of “Ned Hector,” a Black Revolutionary War hero. Ward is a historical reenactor and president of the 6th Regiment United States Colored Troops.

The lectures will be followed by a living history presentation from 4 to 5 p.m. and a concert from 5 to 7 p.m. with live music by the Philadelphia-based Quake Band. The event is sponsored by Bloomberg. Go to washingtoncrossingpark.org for further information.