'Our Independence Day': Boynton festivities celebrate Juneteenth holiday
BOYNTON BEACH — Through song, through dance and through spoken word, Boynton Beach residents and community leaders gathered by the dozens Monday afternoon for a day of festivities celebrating Juneteenth, also referred to by those in attendance as Freedom Day.
More than 100 people came to Sara Sims Park as the city recognized Juneteenth as a formal, paid holiday for the first time after commissioners voted in favor of the move last year. It marked of one of several events across Palm Beach County during the holiday weekend, recognizing the end of slavery after the Civil War.
"Juneteenth is when we finally got the word that all slaves are free," Boynton Beach city commissioner Woodrow Hay said. "We just want to remember that and celebrate that occasion because for too long, we didn't.
"I'm just excited that we have this opportunity. That we have this national holiday now to recognize what happened so that that it never happens again."
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Monday's celebration in Boynton Beach included live musical performances, activities for children and a barbecue cook-off competition.
A short distance from the main stage was Boynton Beach resident John Hepburn's display recognizing descendants of African slaves. The display included images of prominent figures for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, as well as modern figures such as former President Barack Obama and poet Maya Angelou.
Hepburn said it is important to help the community, particularly younger generations, understand the true meaning of the Juneteenth holiday.
"Most of the festivals, they're about music and food," Hepburn said. "We're trying to educate people. Many of them don't even know about Juneteenth. They're still (learning) about the holiday."
"This is our Independence Day," Hepburn said, referring to Black Americans.
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Hay echoed Hepurn's sentiment.
"It's so important for our kids to be educated on what happened in the past," he said. "I'm a proponent of not censoring books, but telling our people the truth, so it never happens again."
Juneteenth became national holiday in 2021
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a national holiday.
The holiday honors the emancipation of 250,000 slaves in Texas in 1865. At the time, President Abraham Lincoln had already signed the Emancipation Proclamation and freed slaves in other Confederate territories more than two years earlier, but his order only held weight in areas with military enforcement.
Monday's Boynton Beach festivities included a performance from local musician Mark Lewis, who sang his new song "Our Servant."
Lewis noted that he attended last year's Boynton Juneteenth festival and described this year's event as even bigger. He said recognition of the Juneteenth holiday was long overdue.
"To me, it's something that probably should have been done years and years ago," he said.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton celebrates 'Freedom Day' with Juneteenth festivities
