Iowa City celebrates Juneteenth with a variety of performances throughout the area

Iowa City’s Juneteenth celebrations will feature performances by Black artists, educational opportunities, and a fashion show as part of a week-long series of free public events throughout the area.

Juneteenth recognizes the end of slavery in the United States. June 19 was recently established as a federal holiday after President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress in 2021.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Grander informed the Galveston, Texas, community of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the last enslaved people in the United States more than two years after the proclamation.

Iowa City’s main Juneteenth celebration begins Friday with a resource fair at 4 p.m. in Blackhawk Mini Park. Soul food will be provided by Johnson County Supervisor Royceann Porter, who opened her own restaurant in March, beginning at 5 p.m.

The community can then participate in Black performances in the city’s Pedestrian Mall, beginning with a fashion show by Iowa City’s Wright House of Fashion at 5:30 p.m. The evening’s musical performances feature local artist Isaac Jordan at 6:30 p.m. and the Chicago-based group Aniba and the Sol Starz at 8 p.m.

Jordan is excited to perform during Black Music Month in front of the local Black community, he told the Press-Citizen.

“First and foremost, I'm a Black, queer artist. So Black music has always been a part of my life from day one because it is part of who I am,” Jordan said. “I almost have a duty to be able to put on a proper celebratory show for Juneteenth because it is a celebration of some systemic freedom.”

The Cedar Rapids native grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Michael Jackson, all of whom he described as “boundary pushers.” Their music resonated with him from a young age and helped inspire and lead him to become the artist he is today.

Jordan, who performed at Iowa City’s pride celebration last year, said he welcomes a chance to deeply connect with the audience again.

“When you have specific elements of music in your set, when you perform, it might not connect with everybody in the audience because that's not who they are,” Jordan said. “With a more black audience, with an audience of color, you will get that [connection] more often and it's so much more rewarding to be the representation for your people and to see in real-time the impact that has.”

He believes it's important to inspire Black and queer youth by demonstrating that they can achieve their goals and that there are individuals like them who have succeeded.

“I would give so much to be able to be a child, a Black child, a Black queer child, and to see who I am being represented in the purest way through music,” Jordan said.

While he’s looking forward to performing most, Jordan said he’s also grateful to take in the rest of the Juneteenth celebration in a place that cares about representation and education.

“I'm excited to experience the Juneteenth celebration in Iowa City for the first time not just as a performer but also as another human being,” he said.

Area celebrations and educational opportunities are available throughout the week

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague believes a week-long celebration allows individuals to better understand Juneteenth's significance.

“As a Black man, I think it’s important for us to recognize what Juneteenth actually means and why it is celebrated,” Teague said. “My ancestors were still enslaved and this is a day that really did speak to their freedom. What that really means on a level for our entire nation was that this was a significant event where everyone within our nation was deemed to be free.”

University of Iowa professor Leslie Schwalm will provide a one-hour educational session on Wednesday, June 14 focused on how the destruction of slavery shaped the lives of Black Americans in the United States. The session is on Zoom and begins at noon.

On Thursday, the St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Coralville will hold a Juneteenth prayer service at 6 p.m.

The Englert Theatre will welcome a performance of Charlie and the Wolf on Sunday, June 18, a “witty and whimsical” children’s opera that showcases a fictional meeting between Black jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker and famed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The opera “celebrates uniqueness and reminds us that everyone is playing with the same notes,” its website says.

A Juneteenth and Father’s Day family picnic will also be held in Iowa City’s Wetherby Park on Sunday as part of the festivities. The event will feature 3-on-3 basketball, a DJ, and more, according to the city’s page.

The city’s celebrations of Juneteenth conclude on June 20 with a virtual discussion of the book “How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America.” The Iowa City Public Library will host the session over Zoom, which begins at 6 p.m.

Iowa City has been a major supporter of Juneteenth for several years.

Teague spearheaded the city council's official declaration of Juneteenth as a city holiday in December of 2020, before Biden’s federal declaration.

“It really does say a lot about our community, about acknowledgment and inclusivity, to recognize this holiday,” Teague said. “And it also gives us time to come together and celebrate as a community.”

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City announces Juneteenth celebrations and educational activities