Freedom Day: How to celebrate Juneteenth in Ames this year

Recognizing the groundbreaking end of slavery in the United States, several family-friendly events will be held in Ames Friday and Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth.

Events include a big celebration at Bandshell Park Saturday afternoon as well as an airport dedication in the morning, in addition to activities at Roosevelt Park and Ames Public Library on Friday.

Juneteenth is the oldest national celebration of the abolition of slavery in the United States, according to Juneteenth.com.

Although the holiday is officially on the calendar this year for Monday, June 19, the Ames Branch of the NAACP and the 2023 Ames/Story County Juneteenth Committee have teamed up with several local organizations to hold events throughout the weekend, when more families will have a chance to participate.

What is Juneteenth?

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers entered Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of the Civil War and the freedom of enslaved people, according to Juneteenth.com.

It was more than two years after Pres. Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which became official on Jan. 1, 1863. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee didn’t surrender until April of 1865, however, which gave Union troops minimal opportunity to enforce the order in Texas.

Juneteenth is officially celebrated each year on June 19.

“Today Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement,” according to the website.

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Is Juneteenth a federal holiday or a state holiday in Iowa?

Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021.

All 50 states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or observance, but not all states have adopted the holiday as an official public holiday.

“This year, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia will legally recognize Juneteenth as a public holiday, meaning state government offices are closed and state workers have a paid day off,” according to Pew Research Center.

Although Juneteenth became a recognized holiday in Iowa on April 11, 2002, it is not an official public holiday here.

Black equality and freedom have been celebrated in Iowa since 1856, according to the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Banning author, actor to appear at Ames library

Author Louisa Jaggar will appear at the Ames Public Library at 4 p.m. Friday to discuss her picture book, “Sprouting Wings: The True Story of James Herman Banning, the First African American Pilot to Fly Across the United States.”

Jaggar will share stories she uncovered in her research on Banning’s time as an electrical engineering student at then-Iowa State College and as an early aviator.

She will discuss where Banning and other Black students lived. Jaggar will also share details about how his community helped Banning build a plane.

The conversation will feature actor Kevin Mambo as well, who will perform Saturday at Bandshell Park in a staging of “The Greatest Story Never Told,” a play honoring the life of Banning.

Mambo has appeared on Broadway and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his role on “Guiding Light.”

The author event is free and will take place in the Farwell T. Brown Auditorium.

See ‘Black Panther 2’ at Roosevelt Park

Ames Public Library and the NAACP are partnering to present a free movie night at Roosevelt Park, located at the corner of Roosevelt and Ninth.

The event will start at 8 p.m. on Friday night.

Organizers will screen “Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever,” a “superhero blockbuster featuring a fictional African nation untouched by colonialism. In this sequel, the heroes defend against multiple threats in the wake of their leader’s death, including intervening world powers and a secret underwater civilization,” the library’s event states.

In the event of rain, the movie will start one hour earlier (at 7 p.m.) at Ames Middle School, 3915 Mortensen Road.

Celebrate renaming of Ames’ airport for Black aviator

The city of Ames celebrates the naming of the James Herman Banning Airport from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication.

Ames Mayor John Haila and the Ames City Council will host the ceremony for the renaming of the airport for Banning, who moved here in 1919 to attend college and was the first Black American citizen to receive his pilot’s license from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The ceremony will be held at the front entrance of the airport, 2520 Airport Drive. After the ceremony, a reception with light refreshments will be held in the airport terminal. The public is encouraged to attend this free event.

More: Ames dedicates airport to Black aviator pioneer in Juneteenth celebrations

Juneteenth Celebration held at Bandshell Park

The Ames NAACP’s second annual Juneteenth Celebration will be held from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Bandshell Park.

Festivities will include live music, food trucks, arts and crafts, games and face painting.

Staff from the City of Ames Police, Fire, Water, and Ames Parks and Recreation departments will be participating in the event.

The presentation of the play about Banning's life will be performed at 2:30 p.m. on the Bandshell stage. All events are free and open to the public.  

The rain location for Saturday’s celebration is Ames Community Center Gym, 515 Clark Ave.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames celebrates Black freedom, education, achievement for Juneteenth