Growing up in Southeast Wisconsin, I'd hear about the Juneteenth Day celebration in Milwaukee every year. Without knowing much about it, I put it on the bucket list. Then I moved the Fox Valley and eventually saw that Appleton had a Juneteenth Day celebration and slowly learned about the history behind the celebration.
Juneteenth Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. It is a day of freedom and independence for African-Americans. It is normally celebrated with parades, food, music, drumming, and dancing. Each celebration is different and means different things to different people.
Being the introvert that I am, being among a bunch of people I didn't know was not my idea of a good time yet I wanted to go to one. Then the pandemic hit and I found myself subscribed to the Cuyahoga County Library newsletter. Cuyahoga County is the greater Cleveland area. A branch of the Cuyahoga County Library System was having a virtual Juneteenth Day Celebration. This was perfect. I signed up. Okay so it was an easy way out but us introverts love technology.
I thought it would be a celebration in the library. Oh no. It was a Facebook Live video of the actual Juneteenth Day celebration in Warrensville Heights. The video and sound quality weren't always the best because we were indoors but it was still very interesting.
There were poetry and story readings.
There was dancing.
There was drumming.
Everything that a normal Juneteenth Day celebration would have without having to leave my couch. I just wish the sound was better quality as I would have loved to hear more of what was being said. I was impressed by the drumming. I really liked the virtual aspect because it allowed for those that aren't ready to go out in the community or were unable to get to the library to attend and celebrate.
Hopefully one day, I will actually attend the one in Appleton. This year it moved from City Park to Jones Park. In the meantime I will enjoy the virtual events when I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment