Members of Nettie, Nana and friends, a New Jersey-based educational puppet company, get ready to entertain children and adults at Palmyra’s Juneteenth celebration on June 20. The event had to be postponed a day because of heavy rain.
For six years, the towns of Palmyra, Riverton and Cinnaminson have together celebrated Juneteenth – when the last of enslaved African American people in Texas were set free on June 19, 1865.
Each year the host town is rotated, and it was Palmyra’s turn for the celebration of freedom on June 19 this year. But because of heavy rain, the event was postponed a day. It finally happened as the sun shined on the several hundred people gathered in the Chief Payton I. Flournoy Sr. Memorial Park.
“It was a lot of work getting everything ready,” said Michael Hunt, chairperson of the Palmyra, Riverton and Cinnaminson Juneteenth Celebration Committee. “Our one goal and one cause is to celebrate American history. I am honored to be a part of an amazing team.”
“It’s very important to get the history out there that people don’t know,” noted Keisha Hunt, one of the 20 committee members in charge of the event’s volunteers, including students from Palmyra High School.
Committee member Michelle Ray said,
“On June 17, 2021,” committee member Michelle Ray recounted, “Juneteenth became a federal holiday and every year since, the (committee) has sponsored a celebration … The main goals are to acknowledge those who fought and died for freedom in America and highlight the purpose of the holiday to preserve Black history now and in future generations.
“It will continue to promise an event filled with rich cultural heritage and community spirit, with the fusion of tradition and innovation, catering to all ages,” Ray commented, adding that the committee strives to educate all people and cultures on the reason Black Americans commemorate the economic, mental, physical and spiritual freedom of formerly enslaved people.
“This event is great,” offered Palmyra Mayor Gina Ragomo Tait. “I hope it continues to be amazing.” She welcomed everyone to the celebration along with Riverton Mayor Jim Quinn and Cinnaminson Mayor Stephanie Kravil.
“This is a great collaboration among the three towns,” Quinn maintained, adding that the event lauded Kaya Robinson, Chloe Edwards, Kacia King and Chloe King for galvanizing people after the George Floyd murder. The first one was during COVID in 2020 at Riverton Memorial Park. The goal is to honor them and continue the conversation.”
“There’s a lot that goes into planning the celebration,” said Ragomo Tait, adding that rotating the event each year “doesn’t put a burden on one of the towns. The committee does most of the work.”
For those gathered in the park, there was lots of entertainment, beginning with Nettie, Nana and friends,” a New Jersey-based educational puppet company that put on a colorful show that involved children in its dancing and singing.
Other performances were those of Eddie Rosado, an Afro-Latino drummer who offered drum circle instructions; dance and drill routines from Amped to Dance and Konglomerate Kweens; the funky music of Ain’t Nothing But a Party Band”; the Re-Enactors of Burlington County; and local students who explained the significance of the official Juneteenth Flag.
Vendors lined up across from the park and borough hall, including Black and Indigenous People of Color selling handcrafted soaps, candles and clothing.
Member of the Southern Burlington County Chapter of the NAACP distributed information on community needs and voter registration applications, while the University of Pennsylvania provided free health-care screenings.
New Year’s Eve on December 31, 1862 was unlike any other for free and enslaved African Americans. Known as “Freedom’s Eve,” the evening saw residents gathered at homes and churches in Palmyra, Riverton and Cinnaminson and all across the nation eagerly awaiting the stroke of midnight.
At 12 a.m. they celebrated a new dawn of freedom while ringing in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, officially ending slavery in the country. But the Civil War was raging and the 13th amendment freeing the slaves could not yet be observed in states under Confederate control.
It was a long process that finally ended on June 19, 1865, when the troops reached Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people in the state were free.
“Initially, Juneteenth was celebrated in family and church-centered gatherings,” Ray explained. “Over time, the informal holiday evolved into annual pilgrimages to Galveston Bay by formerly enslaved individuals and their families.”
