AMHERST — Sunday’s Juneteenth celebration on the Town Common featured speakers, music, dance, food, and a whole lot of people coming together to celebrate the holiday in a town with rich ties to the Civil War.
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans in Texas were emancipated. Texas was the last state in the union where slaves were freed under the proclamation, more than two years after it was signed. Juneteenth was formally recognized as a federal holiday last year.
Sunday’s Town Common celebration was part of a whole weekend celebrating Juneteenth. On Saturday, the Juneteenth Heritage Walking Tour took place, where participants were taken on a tour of Black and indigenous historical sites in Amherst. There was also an event at West Cemetery, honoring the members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment and the 5th Cavalry, two Black civil war units that have members buried there.
One of the participants in Sunday’s event on the common, as well as the tour, was Ronald Brace Jr., a 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry re-enactor. Brace, of Springfield, does re-enactments with his father, Ronald Brace Sr., and they have an ancestor who fought in the 54th Massachusetts.
“I couldn’t imagine what those folks went through,” Brace said, when asked what this means to him. “It makes me honored, and I’m honored to portray these soldiers.”
Asked about the embrace and federal recognition of Juneteenth, Brace said that it was a milestone. He also noted that most of the people at the celebration on Sunday were white, and expressed appreciation for their support.
Town Councilor Anika Lopes helped to organize Saturday’s walk. A seventh generation Amherst resident, Lopes has family who fought in both the 54th Massachusetts and the 5th Cavalry. She also said that in their service in the 5th Cavalry, her family members were with the force that ended slavery in Texas.
“Amherst itself is directly linked to the military acts that ended slavery on June 19, 1865,” said Lopes.
Lopes also launched a foundation, Ancestral Bridges, on Saturday, which seeks to elevate economic and cultural opportunities for Black, Indigenous and people of color in the region. Lopes is the president of Ancestral Bridges and artist Shirley Jackson Whitaker is one of its board members.
“I think it’s needed, I think it’s a very positive thing,” said Whitaker, of Juneteenth.
Lopes and Whitaker have also helped form the Tote2Vote campaign, which will be providing tote bags with food and water in them that people will be able to keep with them while they’re in line to vote.
State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, was a speaker on Sunday and said this weekend’s Juneteenth event was the biggest she’s seen.
“Yesterday and today is a combination of resident engagement and town support in a way that’s just beautiful,” she said.
Domb was also a co-sponsor of the bill that made Juneteenth a state holiday last year, an effort that was kicked off after Amherst resident Amilcar Shabazz asked her and Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, to act.
Aimee Salmon, who is the founder and owner of Africana Dance & Fitness led members of the crowd in dance at Sunday’s celebration.
“It’s good to be celebrating the history and embracing it,” said Salmon, interviewed prior to her dance work. “It’s very powerful.”
She also said that the celebration means a lot to her as a Black woman.
“Getting out all races, all cultures, getting together, it’s really good,” she said.
Alex Evora, of Amherst, was selling his jewelry, which he makes from natural materials like stones and shells, at Sunday’s celebration. He said that he sources his shells from both Provincetown and from Cape Verde, where he is originally from.
Evora expressed enthusiasm for Amherst celebrating Juneteenth.
“I see the future for a new generation to make it bigger and bigger,” Evora said. “White and black together.”
He also described Amherst as the best town that he knows.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.