Negro Election Black Celebration Day Comes To Salem's Riley Plaza

SALEM, MA — The history of Black voting in New England will be the subject of a ceremony and celebration on Friday at Riley Plaza in coordination with a new exhibit at Hamilton Hall and the weekend of the centuries-old Black Picnic held at Salem Willows.

Salem United President Doreen Wade told Patch that Negro Election Black Celebration Day is intended to be a "day of remembrance, education and celebration" of the first Black voting system in America dating back to 1740, as well as a provide a history of the Black Picnic — a largely informal gathering of families traditionally held in Salem on the third Saturday in July that can be traced back to 1741.

Wade said by the time Gov. Charlie Baker lifted all state coronavirus-related gathering restrictions on May 29 it was too late for Salem United to organize some of the vendors and music that has been at the picnic in the past. Salem Willows is, however, open to the public for any families that want to gather in the tradition on Saturday.

Wade told Patch the Negro Election Black Celebration Day is not meant to replace the Black Picnic, but to educate on its history and encourage Black civic engagement.

The event is open to the general public and all are encouraged to attend.

"If people want to understand why they go to Salem Willows on the third Saturday of July every year they should come to Hamilton Hall and learn the history," Wade said of her exhibit, which is open to the public each Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 29. "They are going to be surprised — very surprised — at some things."

Wade said she spent more than a year on the project and all information in the exhibit is documented. She added that one reason Salem United is calling Friday's event Negro Election Black Celebration Day is the negative history that she learned through her research the word "picnic" has in the Black community dating back to the post-Civil War Jim Crow days in the South.

Friday’s event at Riley Plaza begins at noon and will include a flag-raising of the Black American Heritage Flag of 1967 at noon. Wade said speakers are expected to include Gov. Baker, State Sen. Joan Lovely and Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll.

"We want to show pride in our past as we move forward to fight against Black suppression," Wade said. "We do that through unity and inclusion. This exhibition is important because we educate youth on the past and we bring its history to the future."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)