West Hartford Juneteenth Events Promise Festive Remembrances

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Area residents can celebrate one of the most momentous occasions in U.S. history Sunday in West Harford, which will host its third annual Juneteenth CommUNITY Celebration at Blue Back Square.

Organizers say it will be a day filled with inspirational messages, music, art and activities for all ages.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when a group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free from the institution of slavery.

The announcement came two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all enslaved people were free.

Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day.
In addition to the Blue Back Square celebration, Juneteenth events will take place throughout town.

Scheduled events in West Hartford include:

• At 10 a.m. Sunday, First Church of Christ Congregational, 12 S. Main St., will host a special service led by the Rev. Fredd Ward followed by a social hour and marker dedication to Rev. Lemuel Haynes, son of West Hartford and the first credentialed African-American clergyman in the United States.

• At noon, the celebration continues in Blue Back Square, 65 Memorial Road, as event vendors open for business and local DJ B-EZ begins to play non-stop hits throughout the afternoon.
Commemorative West Hartford Juneteenth bags, water bottles and the traditional “red’ beverage from Avery’s Soda will be available at the main table in Blue Back Square.

• At 12:30 p.m., the Witness Stones Project will dedicate 14 new Witness Stones.

This project seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals, who in part, built our community.

Here, students and community members will read the names of 50 enslaved people that were researched by West Hartford students.

Hartford Poet Laureate Frederick Douglass Knowles, III will close the program with an original poem created for the occasion.

• Celebration attendees will also be able to view the new street sign for Dinah Road, to replace New Street in Blue Back Square.

Students who led the petition drive will introduce Dinah and her daughter Dinah who were enslaved in West Hartford in the 18th century.

This street will be the first in West Hartford to be named after an African American.

• West Hartford’s Third Annual Community Juneteenth Celebration will kick off at 1:30 p.m., led by master of ceremonies Wendell Edwards of Eyewitness News morning news.

Alvin Carter and Friendz World Music will start the event with a traditional African ceremony which includes dancing and drumming.

Keynote Speakers for this year’s Juneteenth Celebration will be state Rep. Stephanie Thomas, D-Norwalk, a candidate for Connecticut Secretary of State, and state Rep. Tammy Exum, D-West Hartford.

Tatyahah Datil, a rising senior from Conard High School, is this year’s Juneteenth West Hartford Public Schools student speaker.

The 2022 headline performer is Nekita Waller, Connecticut State Troubadour.

Additional performances include the University of Hartford Gospel Choir and West End Wiz Bangerz.

Guests can also visit the Juneteenth Art Exhibition on display at the Noah Webster Library, 20 S. Main St., now through August 1.

In addition, the Russell West Hartford restaurant will be offering a variety of authentic Caribbean dishes for our Juneteenth Celebration.

View the menu on the Juneteenth Celebration Facebook page.

The Juneteenth 2022 Celebration is sponsored by Freeman Law and is the result of a community partnership that includes Concerned Parents of Color of West Hartford - CPCWH, DJ B-EZ, First Church West Hartford, Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society, Posh Paint CT, School of Rock West Hartford, The RiseUP Group, Town of West Hartford, West Hartford African American Social & Cultural Organization - WHAASCO, West Hartford Arts Commission, West Hartford Public Library and Witness Stones West Hartford and volunteer community members.

For more information on West Harford's Juneteenth Celebration, visit its Facebook page at this link.