Pittsfield — On Sunday, June 16, the NAACP Berkshires held its third annual Juneteenth event at Durant Park. The event was a commemoration of Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrated on Wednesday, June 19.
On June 19, 1865, two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in Appomattox, Va., Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved African-Americans that the Civil War ended and they were free. It was two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation.
June 19 has been annually celebrated for years by Black people throughout the United States, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. In June 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
This year’s event in Pittsfield began with a flag-raising ceremony in front of City Hall, during which Mayor Peter Marchetti read a city proclamation for Juneteenth and was joined by members of NAACP Berkshires.
Before members of NAACP Berkshires marched from City Hall to Durant Park, NAACP Berkshires Vice President Sabrina Allard read the poem “God Speed the Year of Jubilee” by William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist and suffragist who lived from 1805 to 1879 and started the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator.
God speed the year of jubilee
The wide world o’er!
When from their galling chains set free,
Th’ oppress’d shall vilely bend the knee,
And wear the yoke of tyranny
Like brutes no more.
That year will come, and freedom’s reign,
To man his plundered rights again
Restore.
God speed the day when human blood
Shall cease to flow!
In every clime be understood,
The claims of human brotherhood,
And each return for evil, good,
Not blow for blow;
That day will come all feuds to end,
And change into a faithful friend
Each foe.
God speed the hour, the glorious hour,
When none on earth
Shall exercise a lordly power,
Nor in a tyrant’s presence cower;
But to all manhood’s stature tower,
By equal birth!
That hour will come, to each, to all,
And from his Prison-house, to thrall
Go forth.
Until that year, day, hour, arrive,
With head, and heart, and hand I’ll strive,
To break the rod, and rend the gyve,
The spoiler of his prey deprive —
So witness Heaven!
And never from my chosen post,
Whate’er the peril or the cost,
Be driven.
“For me, when I think about Juneteenth, to me it means a celebration,” Allard told The Berkshire Edge. “It means an ability to think about joy and a space for freedom for Black people, and an extension of that freedom and joy to everyone. I think it is deeply important that Berkshire County celebrates Juneteenth. For Pittsfield, celebrating Juneteenth shows a commitment to equality and racial justice.”
In his proclamation, Mayor Marchetti said that Juneteenth “stands as a symbol of the long and arduous journey toward freedom, justice, and equality for African Americans.”
“Juneteenth marks our country’s second Independence Day,” Mayor Marchetti said, reading from the city’s proclamation. “Juneteenth honors the rich heritage, culture, and contributions of African Americans to our society, recognizing their resilience, strength, and enduring spirit. Juneteenth provides an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on our history, acknowledge the injustices of the past, and commit to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all.”
Mayor Marchetti told The Berkshire Edge that Juneteenth makes him reflect on equality. “What goes through my mind is, when will we get to a society where everybody is equal and everyone is treated the same way, regardless of what their race is?” he explained. “You know, we talk a lot about orientation and race, but we also should be engaging in conversations about income inequality, because I think that also plays a major role in who we are as people. Pittsfield is made up of a really diverse population. I think it’s important that we don’t always just recognize the majority of what we see.”
Pittsfield City Council President Pete White said that Juneteenth “is a true celebration for all the people in America.” “Juneteenth is when everyone found out they were free, and that is when we could start the healing and truly accept that everyone is free,” White said. “I know a lot still needs to happen, but at least Juneteenth is when it is recognized that everyone is free. We need to make sure that we are always taking everyone’s feelings and freedoms into account, and not just the feelings and freedoms of those in the majority.”
“What goes through my mind on Juneteenth? Freedom. Absolute freedom,” NAACP Berkshires President Dennis Powell said. “It’s just the fact that this day exists that makes people know that critical race history is real. It’s not a theory, because facts are not theories. Independence Day, on the Fourth of July, did not include people of color, or indigenous people. The fact that they had to create a second Independence Day just shows that we still have that division.”
Powell explained that people of color deal with systemic racism in America “that is designed purposely to make sure that there’s always going to be division, and it just carries through economics, housing, and education.”
“There’s no end to it, not even in today’s society,” Powell said. “It’s nice that Juneteenth is a national holiday, and that’s why I’m so protective of this Juneteenth, so it doesn’t become co-opted by non-people of color. Last year when we celebrated, Walmart came out with Juneteenth ice cream.”
Powell said that companies have commercialized civil rights icons Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois. “[These companies] want to take away from the meaning and value of what we are now recognizing [Juneteenth] as we step out and claim are just rights as human beings and as Americans,” Powell said. “People need to team up with Black organizations that are celebrating Juneteenth, and not create their own celebration and use it as a money maker or for their political stances. The mayor is here today because of the proclamation, not because he is running for mayor or anything political. Where were the politicians when the Declaration of Independence was signed and didn’t include Black people? I try to keep politics out of this Juneteenth event because we want to celebrate who we are, celebrate our color and embrace it.”
Powell emphasized the need to discuss and teach history. “We need to start telling the truth about real history by first stop calling it critical race theory and start calling it critical race history, with all of its ugliness,” Powell said. “History is ugly, and this is a reason why many people don’t want the truth to be told. They don’t want to hurt little white kids by having them know how brutal Americans were to other human beings. This is why Juneteenth is so important, and especially this year, being an election year.”
The Juneteenth celebration at Durant included musical performances, a vendor fair, and a special worship Umoja (Unity) service held by several local churches, including the Hearts Give Ministry, the Victory Temple COGIC, Price Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, the New Generation Global Ministry, and the Unity Fellowship Church of Berkshire County.
For more information about NAACP Berkshires, visit its website.
