Juneteenth will be celebrated at two public events in Oneonta this week.
The first, Juneteenth Celebration, is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, June 19 at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center and its adjacent field. The following day, the Oneonta Juneteenth Festival is scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to about 8 p.m. at Neahwa Park.
Keshia Genzardi, organizer of the Friday event, said Monday, June 15 that this year’s event celebrates not just freedom and equality. This year, a focus of hers is “standing in solidarity of all races.”
She said that she had heard from vendors who expressed interest in participating, but thought they may not be able to because they were white.
“That to me was like, ‘but it’s OK, you’re still an ally, and that’s just as important to know you’re an ally,'” Genzardi said. It’s both about bringing together people who are Black, Indigenous, people of color and allies, she said.
Congress and President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, though it has existed in some form since shortly after the end of the Civil War. The holiday specifically recognizes the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved people, in Texas at the conclusion of the war. Juneteenth also is celebrated as a recognition of the abolition of slavery overall and the struggle for freedom by Black people throughout American history.
Diandra Sangetti-Daniels, organizer of the Saturday event, said Monday that American history demonstrates Black people must support each other to achieve better outcomes in the face of institutional disparities.
“No one is willingly giving us our freedom, so it’s just a reminder on the day that it’s important as a community we come together,” she said.
“Especially for the Black community, institutions such as policing, medicine, even education tend to fail or fault,” Sangetti-Daniels said, adding that it is important to “come up with solutions together, how to combat it.”
Friday’s event
Opening remarks for the Friday event at Foothills are set for about 11:15 a.m. with a lineup of speakers and performers to follow. Speakers will include Oneonta Mayor Dan Buttermann and former Mayor Mark Drnek, Genzardi said. A speaker lineup for the event also listed Joseph Gunter.
Performers include Devon LaBoy, King Konye, Cabral Gunter and others, Genzardi said.
A bounce house is scheduled to be outside, which Genzardi said will be free. The event also will have free watermelon and juice while supplies last.
Food vendors and local businesses will be present, Genzardi said. Some food options include Jammings, Juniors Jerk Hut and Cabral’s Caribbean Store.
“Certain vendors will be bringing their merchandise to sell,” Genzardi said. “A wood carving person is bringing their stuff. Somebody who does origami crafts, he’s bringing his stuff to sell.”
She added that there will also be a candle vendor, among other options.
A puff and paint event, for those age 21 and older with ID, is scheduled for 12:15 p.m., Genzardi said.
Sponsors for the event include Foothills, Five Star Subaru, Junk Be Gone, Otsego Pride Alliance, DOSHA, Helping Hands Thrift Shop and The Arc Otsego.
Saturday’s event
The Saturday event at Neahwa Park will include opening remarks by Jonathan Brown and a performance of the Black National Anthem by LaBoy.
The first portion of the event is divided into subject tents. Tents include literacy, history, health, physical education and a mind, body and soul tent. Some of the activities will include a walking memorial and history less on Juneteenth, yoga and a pop-up library with Black authors, Sangetti-Daniels said.
A community meal will be provided by Junior’s Jerk Hut, she said.
Reclaim Oneonta and the Oneonta NAACP will facilitate a town hall meeting on housing issues in the area. Topics addressed will include good cause eviction and tenant unions, Sangetti-Daniels said.
The event will conclude with a dance party with music from a DJ, Sangetti-Daniels said. The dance party will begin with a remembrance of Doria Watson, a community member who passed away this year.
The seventh year of the event, Sangetti-Daniels said, “it is a celebration of Black liberation and an empowerment festival for the Black people of Otsego County to come together and get connected.”