Juneteenth Celebrations Across New Hampshire Pay Tribute To Black History

By ZACH LAIRD, InDepth NH

PORTSMOUTH, NH — The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire will be celebrating Juneteenth alongside the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, starting June 19, with marches and interactive programs to celebrate Black history in the Granite State and across the country.

The organization works to promote awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today, per its mission statement. Juneteenth is the oldest known nationally celebrated event commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

“In many ways, Juneteenth is the greatest marker for American Freedom, as a representation of the end of slavery and the way it ties to Emancipation Proclamation. Freedom is one of the great American ideals, it’s one of the things this country was founded on, and without recognizing the complicated and difficult history that we have with freedom — considering this was a nation that was founded on the backs of enslaved people — we can’t really celebrate the entirety of American history without recognizing the more difficult parts of it,” said Jake Webb, marketing specialist for the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.

According to research from the Northeast Slavery Records Index (NESI), approximately 3,000 enslaved people fled their enslavers and enlisted and fought in the Revolutionary War on the British side. About 5,000 Black soldiers, many of whom were slaves, enlisted on the Continental side to earn their freedom, or were enlisted as substitutes for their enslavers. As of 1790, NESI estimates that there were approximately 710 enslaved people living in New Hampshire.

Various events are scheduled from June 19, 21, 27 and 28. They begin with the Juneteenth Freedom Walk on June 19 at 9 a.m., where participants will embark on a 0.8 mile walk from John Paul Jones Memorial Park in Kittery, Maine to the African Burying Ground Memorial at 386 State Street in Portsmouth.

After participants finish the walk to the African Burying Ground Memorial, the “Healing Rhythm of Drums” event begins at 10 a.m. This event looks to honor the lives and legacies of “those excluded from America’s founding promises,” such as Native Americans, Africans, African Americans, immigrants, and other marginalized groups, according to the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. It will include a Native American blessing, the reading of the names of Portsmouth’s enslaved Africans, and African drumming (and) dance.

On Sunday, June 21, the “New Hampshire’s 5 to Know” will celebrate five historic African Americans, located at 325 State St, Portsmouth, NH. There will be live performances where people can interact with: Wentworth Cheswell, a Revolutionary War veteran, community leader, and the first Black person elected to public office in the United States; Richard Potter, an internationally-known magician, ventriloquist, and performer; Harriet Wilson — The first Black woman to publish a novel in the United States; Prince Whipple, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the signers of the 1779 Petition for Freedom, and Ona Marie Judge, a young woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who escaped to freedom.

The “What to a Slave is Your Fourth of July” event will feature statewide readings of the historic speech about slavery by Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who escaped freedom at the age of 20, per an article by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Readings for the event will take place at 12 p.m. at Strawberry Banke at 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, NH; Congregational Church of Amherst 11 Church St., Amherst, NH; Potter Place 105 Depot Rd., Andover, NH; Historic Meeting House at Canterbury Shaker Village 288 Shaker Rd. Canterbury, NH; Broad Street Park at Broad Street in Claremont, NH; Concord City Plaza located at North Main Street across from the State House; Derry Public Library at 64 E Broadway, Derry, NH.

Also Dover City Hall, 2nd Floor Auditorium at 288 Central Ave., Dover, NH; Exeter Town Hall at 10 Front St., Exeter, NH; Activity Center at Hampton Parks & Recreation at 34 Park Ave., Hampton, NH; Hopkinton Town Hall at 330 Main St., Hopkinton, NH; Monadnock Center for History and Culture at 19 Grove St., Peterborough, NH; Colburn Park at 51 North Park St., Lebanon, NH; New Fellowship Baptist Church at 50 Ash St., Nashua, NH; Colonel Paul Wentworth House at 47 Water St., Rollinsford, NH; Cook Memorial Library at 93 Main St., Tamworth, NH, and Warner Town Hall at 5 E Main St., Warner, NH.

On June 28, attendees can take a guided tour through Portsmouth, Newmarket, and Exeter to explore the lives and history of historical figures like Prince Whipple, Wentworth Cheswell and others. Later, at 1 p.m., there will also be the “Interactive Living History and Exhibit” event which aims to pull back the curtain on the complexities of early American liberty.

“Our Juneteenth events, we like to call them celebrations. This is going to be a very celebratory event, we want to acknowledge the past and history, and build a better community going forward. We’re hoping that people who attend these events come away understanding of our shared history that connects us as a community a little better, and feel a little bit more connected with their neighbors, their community, and with the past that comes before us,” Webb said.

He added, “We believe that Black history is American history… It’s really important that we acknowledge and recognize all the parts of our history — both good and bad — and let that form a better future for us all.”

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.