Miss Juneteenth participants discuss importance of holiday and history

Jun. 20—"I was just an average girl, and now I'm Miss Juneteenth. Don't let anyone try to limit you," said Gracia Wright, who was crowned Miss Juneteenth 2022 Friday night. "Just be yourself. Anything you want to do, you can do."

Wright, who is deeply involved with theater at Christian Heritage School, where she's a rising junior, aims to promote body positivity among teenage girls, and Miss Juneteenth will be a platform to spread her message, she said: "I'm happy to be that person."

Wright has struggled with seeing only one type of traditional "beauty" showcased. She wants everyone to be able to "see themselves" in all manner of roles, she said. "Black is beautiful, and we need to see representation."

As Miss Juneteenth, "I felt more like a role model, and it makes your heart feel really good to be someone to look up to," said 2021's Miss Juneteenth, Jurnee Harris, who returned Friday to pass the crown to Wright. "I'm glad to be that person."

"The expectations for Miss Juneteenth are simple," said Marisa Kelley, president of the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP. "Walk in excellence, and love your community."

The Miss Juneteenth pageant at Hammond Creek Middle School was part of the third annual Juneteenth Community Celebration organized by the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP. Featuring eight contestants — Lyreik Anderson, Akivia Fraire, Alexandra Jackson, Alyssa Jackson, Maliyah McSears, Shamyra Ann Robinson, Shanya Washington and Wright — the winner received a $1,000 scholarship from the NAACP in addition to the Miss Juneteenth crown. Contestants modeled three types of outfits — trendy, cultural and formal — and each answered an interview question about Juneteenth.

Black individuals of the past fought for years and "have come a long way, but we have a unique battle," said Alexandra Jackson, who finished runner-up. There's residual trauma, and "we feel their struggle."

"Freedom is earned with every generation, and it's our generation's turn, (but) in order to truly be free we need to heal," said Jackson, a rising junior at Kennesaw State University. "We deserve peace," but to achieve it, "we must acknowledge the pain within and heal."

Raising objections "when you see something wrong" is one way to march toward equal treatment for all, said Fraire, a member of Coahulla Creek High School's class of 2022 who was named Miss Congeniality. "Don't let it go unnoticed, and be active in your community."

On June 19, 1865, the announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom from slavery in Texas, where enforcement of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation didn't truly take practical effect until Union soldiers reached the state to enforce it. Since then, Juneteenth has grown into a celebration of the emancipation of those who had been slaves in the United States.

It became a federal holiday last year, after Congress approved a bill to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday, and President Joe Biden signed it. It's the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1983.

While Juneteenth means different things to different people, it presents an opportunity for all to learn, said Alyssa Jackson, a rising senior at Dalton High School.

"Come together to honor what we as a race have accomplished (already) — and are capable of accomplishing" in the future.

Juneteenth is absolutely a time of celebration, but also a moment to focus on what still "isn't right," said Anderson, who also participated in last year's Miss Juneteenth pageant. "Racism" still impacts Black people today, in everything from policing — Black Americans are killed by police at twice the rate of white Americans, according to the Washington Post, and Black men are six times as likely to be jailed as white men — to education (Black students are almost four times as likely to be suspended from school as white students, almost three times as likely to be removed from the classroom but kept within school, almost three times as likely to be expelled, and almost three times as likely to be referred to police for an incident on school grounds, according to a Princeton University study).

Racial disparities also exist in healthcare, where Black women are three times as likely as white women in America to die in childbirth, and "I want to take that first step to (eliminate) that gap so we can all live fulfilled lives," said Harris, a graduate of Southeast Whitfield High School and a rising junior at Georgia State University. She's double majoring in public health and biostatistics in hopes of working for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she'd focus on maternal and child health.

"It's not easy to address these issues," but being Miss Juneteenth has given Harris a voice, she said. "It's a hard conversation, but it needs to be had, (so we) recognize the struggles we face."

While "we can't have true equality when people have prejudice in their hearts and minds, don't let the prejudice of others define you," said Robinson. "You are still you — and you are great — so stay true to who you are."

"We have watched (these contestants) work so hard to distill their big dreams into their remarks tonight," said Chelsea DeWaters, a member of the Juneteenth committee. "Big ideas, and big dreams — words of wisdom and encouragement — they're sharing them with you tonight."

While governments have tried to address inequality, people have to take responsibility to support one another, said Washington.

"We could all change if we work together."

"We have to fight injustice, as our ancestors did, and that makes Juneteenth more than just a moment," Wright said. "Black is not a threat, but Black is power."