‘Progress delayed is progress nonetheless’: Harrisburg celebrates Juneteenth
Lawmakers and performers celebrate Juneteenth at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg (Capital-Star photo by Sarah Nicell)
Young Professionals of Color of Greater Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus came together to host this year’s Juneteenth celebration at the state Capitol on Monday. Its unspoken theme: Gradual progress.
Elected officials, organizers and creatives spoke in front of a crowd of visitors and press in the state Capitol’s East Wing Rotunda about the importance of June 19’s third year as a federal holiday.
“Juneteenth, if anything, while it was progress delayed, is progress nonetheless,” Rep. Justin Fleming, D-Dauphin, said. He is the treasurer of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Pennsylvania was the first state in the Union to pass an act abolishing slavery in 1780. In actuality, the legislation mandated “gradual” freedom, granting emancipation for only those enslaved after the bill’s passage — and only once they turned 28 years old.
The common misperception about Juneteenth is it marks the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. But June 19, 1865 was the day when the last group of enslaved people were informed of their freedom in Texas during the final stretch of the American Civil War.
Then, in yet another delay, Juneteenth awaited its federal holiday designation for more than 150 years. June 19 became a recognized Texas holiday in 1980 and a federal one in 2021.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, all people were free,” Auditor General Timothy DeFoor said in the Rotunda. DeFoor is the first Black auditor general and first person of color elected to a statewide row office in Pennsylvania.
Young Professionals of Color of Greater Harrisburg organized several events leading up to Juneteenth in addition to tMonday’s conference, including a Saturday concert featuring rappers Ghostface Killah and Jim Jones and an educational summit at Harrisburg University.
The summit is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and will feature Angela Rye, chief executive officer of IMPACT Strategies and correspondent on ESPN, as keynote speaker.
“I invite you to come and celebrate with us this week,’ Kimeka Campbell, Vice President of Young Professionals of Color, said. “I also invite you to come and learn with us this week.”
Other parts of Monday’s celebration focused more on fun.
The cast of “HairStory: Reclaiming Our Crown,” a play about uncovering the history of Black hair within African tradition, performed an excerpt of the show featuring spoken poetry and dancers in colorfully patterned dresses and skirts. Drummers provided a beat to move to.
“It could even make its own magic,” one actor called into his microphone, describing the historical origins of African hair.
Later, the sound of drums filled the East Wing rotunda as a group of five dancers performed a West African dance called KuKu, meant for harvests and celebrations. Most danced barefoot on the tile.
Food trucks lined up by the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Grove throughout the day for guests to peruse.
A spot in the East Wing was designated as an arts and crafts space for children to make their own picket signs to learn more about Black history.
Aetna, AmeriHealth, South Central PA Sickle Cell Council and Tri-County OIC tabled in the East Wing and advertised their services as speakers took turns discussing Juneteenth and related goals in the Black community.
“I’m deeply aware of the disparities that exist in healthcare access for quality and outcomes among Black people,” Paula Starnes, chief operating officer at Aetna Better Health of Virginia, said. Aetna was one of several sponsors of the day’s events. “These disparities are not just statistics. They represent real people, real families and real communities whose lives are impacted every day by the systemic barriers to quality and equitable health care.”
House members present included Rep. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin), Rep. Dave Madsen (D-Dauphin), and Fleming. They spoke in favor of legislation to move forward in the Senate that has already passed the House, such as the Crown Act, which would prohibit race-based hair discrimination in the workplace.
Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas and Harrisburg City Council President Danielle Bowers also spoke at the Juneteenth conference. This year, Dauphin County recognized Juneteenth as a countywide holiday for the first time.
“It expresses to the county that we see it as something historic that we should reflect on,” Douglas said. “That we’re even giving our workforce of 1,600 employees the day off to reflect on.”
Bowers used her time to urge onlookers to read up on the Commonwealth Monument Project. The project has attempted to keep the memory alive of the primarily Black, Jewish, and immigrant neighborhoods of the Old Eighth Ward that were destroyed in the 1910s to build the state Capitol park.
“Know about where you’re standing today,” Bowers said.
Young Professionals of Color will continue to celebrate Juneteenth throughout the week through community events, a Black performance night and a block party to finish off the week. The Harrisburg-based organization has worked to form communities for Black professionals since 2016.
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