BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Juneteenth festivities in the Lehigh Valley will stretch out for a whole week in 2023.
Karen Britt, a business professor at Northampton Community College, originally founded Juneteenth Lehigh Valley (JVL) in 2020. It was in the wake of coronavirus shutdowns and George Floyd protests that swept the nation, and she thought it was important for the holiday to be recognized locally.
- The first Juneteenth Lehigh Valley was in 2021, founded by Karen Britt, a business professor at Northampton Community College
- Juneteenth Lehigh Valley will be a weeklong event in 2023
- The holiday celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States
The holiday, celebrated June 19, is also known as Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day. It marks the end to slavery in the United States.
This year will be the third year Juneteenth festivities will officially be celebrated in the Lehigh Valley. Britt wanted events to be spread out throughout the week, so more people can take advantage of them.
Juneteenth Week will begin with flag-raising ceremonies in the three Lehigh Valley cities: At 1 p.m. on June 11 in Allentown, 3 p.m. at City Hall Plaza in Bethlehem and at 5 p.m. in Easton.
Those events will be followed by dining experiences, events focused on Black literary, music and more.
'Elevate, celebrate, educate'
Britt said she started planning JLV after defending her dissertation for her doctoral program the previous year, because she wanted to bring the community together.
"The nation at that point was very, very polarized," Britt said. "I wanted to have a celebration.
"We elevate, we celebrate and we educate," she said, referring to the holiday's purpose.
"If you tell the story of slavery and then just stop there, you're doing a disservice. You're not talking about how an oppressed people actually was able to survive the atrocity and, in the midst of the atrocities, still create, still contribute.
"That's authentic American history."Karen Britt, Juneteenth Lehigh Valley founder
"That's authentic American history," Britt said.
In 1863, during the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to more than 3 million enslaved people living in Confederate states.
However, the news took time to spread. It only reached enslaved people in Texas two years later, when Union soldiers marched to Galveston, bringing with them the news that slavery was abolished.
The first Juneteenth celebrations happened the next year, and spread to other states.
In 2021, Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday.
'The synergy of people working'
One thing Britt said she knew when planning the first local Juneteenth celebration was that she didn't want the event to be specific to just one township, borough or city.
"I saw the strength in the synergy of people working within the valley and working together."Karen Britt, Juneteenth Lehigh Valley founder
"I saw the strength in the synergy of people working within the valley and working together," she said. "I wasn't gonna do it specifically for Easter, for Bethlehem, for Allentown.
"It was going to be for the Valley," Britt said.
The first year, more than 3,200 people attended.
"We were doing Black film, we were doing Black food, we were doing artists, we were doing all of this in one day," she said.
"People said, 'Oh, I really wanted to go see the quilting demonstration, but I missed it,' or 'I didn't get a chance to do the historical menu tasting.'"
This year, in Easton, the June 11 flag raising will be followed by a Gospel Concert in Center Square.
The Bayou Restaurants in Bethlehem and Easton will hold a Juneteenth Dining Experience at 7 p.m. on June 13 to highlight the foods of Juneteenth.
They will serve foods eaten during Juneteenth celebrations in the 18th and 19th centuries. Each menu item will be accompanied with an explanation of its significance. There also will be live jazz music.
On June 14, there will be three events that focus on Black literacy.
The Black Author’s Program at 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Public Library will feature Elijah B Pringle III, a writer, editor, director, musician, activist and educator based in Philadelphia. Pringle has contributed to "Liberty's Vigil, the Occupy Anthology: 99 Poets Among the 99%."
JLV also will partner with Cops and Kids in Bethlehem and Easton to read books that highlight Black achievement to children.
On June 16, the Juneteenth festivities will continue with the IronPigs at Coca-Cola Park, where a Juneteenth representative will throw the first pitch.
At noon on June 17 at Arts Quest, there will be a Music Festival. The day will feature musical bands playing R&B, soul, jazz and reggae music. There also will be a special tribute to 50 years of hip-hop.
In addition to music, there will be food and goods from more than 40 Black-owned businesses, a magic show, storytelling from Lehigh Valley Reads program and a performance by the Born-into-the-Arts Dancers.
The week will conclude at noon June 19 with the first Juneteenth Parade in the Lehigh Valley that brings together agencies from Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
The parade will be on Northampton Street in Easton, with drumlines and steppers, fraternities and sororities, children’s groups and dance troupes.
'They probably didn't know'
Britt said it's been gratifying to watch young people learn what Juneteenth is.
"I did not grow up celebrating Juneteenth," Britt said. "My parents didn't teach us about Juneteenth. They didn't celebrate it because they probably didn't know.
"That is the case for people within the African American community and people outside."
Part of those education efforts include a Juneteenth coloring book, thousands of copies of which the city of Allentown bought to distribute to schools and daycares.
The Bethlehem reading hour will be at 3 p.m. on June 14 at the Northampton Community College Fowler Campus.
The event will be streamed on YouTube, but children who attend in-person will GET a free book. There also will be a magician, Juneteenth coloring books, red velvet cupcake decorating and an R&B band.
The Easton reading hour will be at 3 p.m. at a Farmer’s Market at Paxinosa Elementary School.
At 6 p.m. on June 15, there will be a Black Beauty Event at Sigal Museum in Easton. It will highlight Black hair and have vendors selling products and skincare.
The evening will finish with interactive fashion show at 7 p.m. There is a $10 fee per person and light refreshments will be served.
'It is an American holiday'
Kevin Greene is chief operating officer at FACES International, a marketing firm, and one of the event's organizers.
"The first thing that I want individuals to know about Juneteenth is that it is American holiday," Greene said. "That is not a black holiday.
"It is a holiday, that's an American holiday, that celebrates, obviously, the end of slavery, but a transition in our world that changed the world."
He said he also hopes the holiday will help rewrite the narrative of Black people living in the United States and spotlight Black achievement.
"Black American individuals have made major contributions to this world," Greene said. "Take it out of the disenfranchisement.
"Tell the stories about greatness, about achievement, about accomplishment, about economic gain, about education, about innovation, about inventions."Kevin Greene, Juneteenth organizer
"Tell the stories about greatness, about achievement, about accomplishment, about economic gain, about education, about innovation, about inventions," Greene said.
Part of the way Juneteenth celebrations accomplish this is through representation, Greene said.
"It's always great to see yourself in large amounts," he said. "When you see a lot of individuals come together and celebrate, that's always a powerful reinforcement tool for all ages.
"It's another place to show our greatness. It's another place to be able to come together."
He said that's more important than ever, as the Lehigh Valley becomes increasingly diverse.
"The Valley is going through a cultural change," he said. "The Valley is becoming diverse more and more every single day and that's only gonna continue."
He said he believes the event will be an intergenerational opportunity for people to connect.
"It doesn't matter what race or race or age you are, gender doesn't matter," he said. "Come out enjoy."
For Britt, "it gives people a time to exhale from all of the things that we do see on the media and the atrocities we do see," she said. "It gives them a break, emotionally, to be able to celebrate.
"Even though the beginning was enslavement, that didn't end your story."
LehighValleyNews.com and Lehigh Valley Public Media are community partners of Juneteenth Lehigh Valley.