Juneteeth March/Protest Focuses On Education In Cherry Hill

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A large group of protesters joined a Juneteenth March/Protest in Cherry Hill Friday afternoon, marching down a busy highway from the Ellisburg Shopping Center to the Cherry Hill Public Library.

Once they arrived, they took a knee for eight minutes, 46 seconds. The kneeling symbolizes the death of George Floyd, 46, after then Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Video, which captured Floyd saying "I can't breathe," went viral, and sparked nationwide protests.

They then heard from students from the African American Culture Club at Cherry Hill High School East, who spoke about the need to expand Black History education in Cherry Hill and in school districts across the state and country.

"We are enslaved, but we are enslaved to stereotypes and inequality," one student who helped organize the protest, said. "Yes, there is poverty in Africa, but our school makes it seem like that's all there is. We need to learn about Black figures other than just Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King."

Cherry Hill Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche then spoke to the assembled crowd, telling them, "We must do more as a school district and as a community."

"We have been recognized as a National School District of Character," Meloche said. "But we must do more. We must be recognized as a district and a community that is anti-racist. It's not enough to admire what we've done in the past. More must be done."

Cherry Hill East Principal Dr. Dennis Parry also spoke, expressing how proud he was of the students for speaking up on Juneteenth. Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is a 155-year-old commemoration that celebrates the emancipation of African Americans from slavery in the United States. Read More: What Is Juneteenth? (5 Things To Know About The Holiday)

The protesters began gathering at the Ellisburg Circle Shopping Center at about 2:30 p.m. Black and white protesters joined together to march down Route 70 West while chanting and carrying signs. Black protesters carried signs that read, “Stop Killing Us,” and white protesters carried signs that read, “I will never understand, but I stand.”

They chanted “It’s time to wake up, it’s not OK, why am I fighting for my life everyday?” and “Black Lives Matter,” as drivers honked and waved to show support. Along the way, they were escorted by Cherry Hill police.

The event was titled, “Learning Begins Now; Stop the Ignorance,” and was aimed at shedding light on the need to teach black history. They said the subject matter continues to be undervalued and marginalized, and that is true of both students and teachers.

“It’s a privilege to learn about racism and not to experience it,” they said. “We deserve the truth, and we demand the truth.”

Before the march, they said they wanted to deliver their message to the following people:

• Cherry Hill Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche and Cherry Hill Board of Education President Lisa Saidel: Require a high school course in African American studies as a mandatory graduation requirement for all students graduating from Cherry Hill Public Schools.
• New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Lamont Repollet: Require a high school course in African American studies as a mandatory graduation requirement for all students graduating from New Jersey's public schools.
• Cherry Hill Community, including but not limited to residents, businesses, township officials, police department: Educate yourselves on your history, specifically Black History. Commit to stand up against any form of racism and recognize how implicit biases impact African American people.

They also want to honor all the African American men, women, and children whose lives were unjustly taken by police, including Floyd and Breonna Taylor, whose names they chanted as they marched.

While Juneteenth is an annual holiday, recent events nationwide brought more attention to this year’s celebration. There were protests, demonstrations and marches planned across the state, and New Jersey could join other states around the country in marking the end of slavery with a state holiday under legislation set to be introduced by state Senate President Steve Sweeney and Senator Sandra Cunningham. Read more here: Juneteenth In New Jersey: What Is It And What’s Happening

“The AACC seeks to unite the community under one cause, EDUCATION, the learning and teaching of Black History as American History,” the organizers said in a flyer announcing the event. “Challenging the community to be, in the words of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, ‘anti-racist.’ To be silent in the face of injustice is to be complicit. Take a stand and speak out now.”

On Friday morning, before the march, the club released this video explaining what Juneteenth is.