You may remember from history class that Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in Confederate states in 1863. What you may not have heard then was how long it took for word to get to the enslaved people themselves. The last state to be notified was Texas…two-and-a-half years later, on June 19th, 1865.
That date in June has come to be commemorated as Juneteenth. It became a federal holiday in 2021, and events are held in celebration across the country, including here in Central Florida.
The group Black Theatre Girl Magic is holding its 5th annual Juneteenth event called Facets of Freedom.
Black Theatre Girl Magic’s Executive Director and Event Producer Mandi Jo John said every year, Facets of Freedom has grown, from a small, socially-distanced COVID-era endeavor in 2020 to this year’s full-blown arts and cultural festival, inside at the Orlando Family Stage and outside in Loch Haven Park.
“This year, we have two performance venues,” John said. “We're going to have food trucks, and outdoor vendors, and all kinds of cool stuff.”
John explained that the first part of the all-day festival is geared toward a kid-friendly “lunch and learn” event, with hands-on activities, food, facepainting and crafts along with a Juneteenth history lesson.
“After that, we're going to have performances of local central Florida musicians and acts on our outdoor welcome stage, to really create that feeling of festival and community,” John added. “The vendors will be out. We are doing a Black business expo. There's going to be so much food, so much music, so much fun. And then in the evening, we have our fifth annual Facets of Freedom performances [inside at the Orlando Family Stage], which highlight some of the best Central Florida Black talent I've ever had the opportunity to work with.”
John points out that celebrating Juneteenth does not run afoul of the federal government’s recent crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion related programs.
“Juneteenth isn't about diversity, equity or inclusion. Juneteenth is about justice,” John explained. “Juneteenth is about human rights. Juneteenth is about the dignity of life… In a time when we can agree on nearly nothing, I would hope that our leaders understand the value of justice and what Juneteenth really means about us as a country. It means we can look at our past with eyes clear and eyes open, and we can take redemptive action. Juneteenth is redemptive action.”
“Because [the events of Juneteenth] happened. It took three years for everyone in this country to get the news. It happened,” said John. “Like Independence Day happened, whether you are on the winning side or the losing side. These wars happened, these conflicts happened, and these people lived and died during these conflicts and these times, and they deserve to have their contributions to history remembered and commemorated, both if you were a person who was enslaved or not. The celebration is about American history. If you are a proud American, Juneteenth is for you. Juneteenth is about American pride in taking steps to do better, and we are all part of that. We all got to this point in history together. So I really hope that people know that Juneteenth is for all of us.”
