MANCHESTER, NH – A strong, chilly wind swirled around the entrance of the Hop Knot on Elm Street in front of the Brady Sullivan Plaza Sunday. Vendors were set up at tables around the pavilion as pedestrians and cyclists alike gravitated toward the site. The Ware Ware Band, an African-American ensemble, played convivial, pleasant music on the grass in front of the eatery.
Unlike the city’s first Juneteenth event, which had been more an informal celebration, the 2022 version looked much more like an organized celebration. Juneteenth MHT, the non-profit organization responsible for putting on the event, showed considerable growth over the last three years.
Although Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, slaves in the Confederate South were not free until the Civil War ended. Even then, news took a while to reach every part of the country. On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger arrived to enforce General Order Number 3, which freed every slave in every part of the country.
However, while Black people had their freedom, they were not – and in some ways still are not – fully liberated. A disproportionate number of Black people are incarcerated in our country, evicted from apartments, and treated as less-than by a society whose foundations were built upon their exploitation and ill-treatment.
As a celebration that began in Galveston, Texas, in the 19th century, Juneteenth has since been adopted as a national holiday by President Biden following the event’s revival.
Kenny Frasch, owner of the HopKnot and organizer of the event, describes himself as a Canadian-born person of Pacific Islander descent.
“A couple of years ago,” he said, “Black Lives Matter Manchester and some other local organizers asked if they could use this space to host a Juneteenth event. So, obviously, as a Black-owned business, I was happy to do it for them.”
The turnout for the first year was much higher than he expected, says Frasch, calling the numbers “insane.” Now, each year, he and other organizers are trying to do a little bit more with the event.
“This is a community event,” he said, “We can celebrate all Black people on this day. Just because my ancestors weren’t slaves doesn’t mean this holiday doesn’t impact all of us to this day.”
Mayor Joyce Craig appeared at the event following the Ware Ware Band’s performance. Her smile and enthusiasm were both contagious. She read a proclamation from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which was greeted by applause and cheers.
The President of the Manchester NAACP, James T. McKim, spoke next. McKim is the founder and managing partner of a company called Organizational Ignition, which helps businesses improve operating efficiency by, according the company website, “reach and sustain their ignition point through the integration and alignment of business processes, people, and technology.”
McKim is also the author of a book entitled The Diversity Factor: Igniting Superior Organizational Performance, published in March 2022.
During his speech, McKim went over the history of African-American efforts to win and keep their freedom, including Crispus Attucks, a Black man regarded as the first person killed in the American Revolution.
When referring to Juneteenth, McKim said, “The celebration rings very poignant today, as in recent weeks, there have been outpourings of anger and police brutality in the streets of America. This makes us feel at times, as if,” he sighed, “African-Americans are still seen as less than human.
“Although it has been celebrated since the 1800s,” McKim continued, “2021 marked the first time that Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday. Many of us hope that it is seen as a day to celebrate the beginning of a restoration of dignity to a people who have been oppressed and a day to re-dedicate ourselves to the freedom of every human being.”
