Social Justice Matters Marks 9th Community Juneteenth With Multitude of Activities on June 13

Social Justice Matters, Inc., will celebrate its ninth community Juneteenth on June 13, with free activities for all ages.

The event is open to the public and will run from noon to 5 p.m. at
Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Road, Scotch
Plains, the nation’s first Black-owned golf and country club.
This year’s theme is Freedom Forward: Building the Next Chapter
Together.

Events will include live music, a West African dance performance
and African drum workshop, children’s story time featuring local
authors, history presentations from the Kramer Manor History
Project and Preserve Shady Rest Committee, tours of historic
Shady Rest, food trucks and more.

Some activities will run throughout the day. These include mini
golf, music with DJ JayWavez, and an open-air vendor and
information table marketplace showcasing Black-owned
businesses.

“Once again, we will provide a day of education, community

togetherness and fun for all attending as we mark this important
and meaningful date in U.S. history,” said SJM President Tashira
Wheeler.

The full schedule and additional information are available on
SJM’s website, socialjusticematters.org. The rain date is
Saturday, June 20.

Highlights of the program include the following:
12 pm: Opening and Libation Ceremonies and U.S. and
Juneteenth flag raising, assisted by BIPOC Girl Scout Troop
42038 of Plainfield, as well as Freedom Award presentations
honoring Ethel Washington and Milton “Milt” Campbell.
1 pm: Live music from jazz band AMANI featuring Stephen Fuller.
1:30 pm: The Kramer Manor Story history presentation as well as
golf tutorials and putting contests.
2 pm: Children’s Story Time featuring Candace Waller, author of
“Frankie and the Peanut Butter and Jelly Fiasco,” and Nicole Neil
and Leila Rogers, authors of “Seize the Day: Leila's Big
Adventure.”
2:30 pm: Karate demonstration by FACE Corp & Goshu Kwan
Martial Arts Academy.
3 pm: West African dance performance by Sister Kcydiima Zahir
and Company.
3:30 pm: West African drum workshop and presentation
by Brother Kojo Ayinde C. Johnson.
4:30 pm: Live music from Nubian Messengers (Ancient-Future
Ensemble)

Attendees will be able to buy a range of refreshments, purchase
souvenirs and other items from Black-owned vendors and visit
various organizations sponsoring information tables.

The venue is accessible to people with disabilities. ASL
interpretation will be provided during the opening ceremonies, and
special seating will be available for the event.

The program is supported by funding through a Union County
HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant
from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in
Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War ended and that the
enslaved were free — two-and-a half years after the
Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

The attached photo is of the Amani jazz band, one of the
groups that will perform. Photo credit: Courtesy of Amani.