Nearly 100 people turned out for the 2019 Juneteenth celebration at Shaker Heights Main Library on Van Aken Blvd.
Nearly 100 people turned out to the Shaker Heights Main Library on June 19 for a simple yet sophisticated observance of the storied Juneteenth holiday.
Juneteenth, originally June 19, 1865, is considered the date when the last enslaved people in America were freed. Although rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come in Texas until June 19, almost two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. While its roots are in Texas, Juneteenth has come to symbolize the end of slavery and the beginning of freedom all over the United States.
The celebration in Shaker, presented by The African American Quilt and Doll Guild, was truly a family and community affair. Program chair Dorothy Kellon, a retired Cleveland schoolteacher, invited Kenneth D. Hale, one of her former 3rd grade students from Iowa-Maple School, to deliver the keynote speaker. Hale’s children, Kelton D. Hale and Kiera D. Hale, provided music for the occasion. And Amaya Dennis, granddaughter of Guild president Felecia Tinker, offered a recitation.
Hale’s remarks gave a present-day context for Juneteenth. He discussed the price paid for freedom by the ancestors, who he described as enslaved African Americans, to emphasize that black people had a history that predated American slavery. And he said that emancipation could best be celebrated today by “honoring our ancestors, living our best lives, and demonstrating our excellence.”
LEFT: Retired schoolteacher Mrs. Gloria Kellon connects with two of her former 3rd grade pupils, Kenneth D. Hale, rear left and architect Warren Richardson, and their children, along with Amaya Dennis, who offered a recitation at the Juneteenth celebration at Shaker Hts. Public Library. Kiera D. Hale is seated next to Mrs. Kellon. Standing, L-R: Kenneth D. Hale, an administrator at Cuyahoga Community College; Kelton D. Hale; Amaya Dennis; Warren Richardson; Akeisha Richardson; and Amariah Richardson. RIGHT: Lavita and Carl Ewing with Dr. Ruth Reese, at the Juneteenth celebration.
The entire program was a conscious and explicit reference to the concept of Sankofa, a reaching back to understanding the past to reclaim that which is lost in order to move forward in wisdom.
The program also included a recitation of Maya Angelou’s “And Still I Rise” by Judy Bateman of the Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers, and a series of Freedom Quilt Stories from Guild members.
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All photos by Lewis Burrell III
This story was originally published in the June 23, 2019 issue of The Real Deal Press. See it in our archives.
