‘Black joy’ at Juneteenth
The Johnnie Brown Band entertained during Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration, hosted by the Alliance for Greater Equity at the Steele County Free Fair Beer Garden. Heat kept attendance down, but the event typically draws more than 100 people each year. Staff photo by Joni Hubred
-Rebecca Moore, Alliance for Greater Equity Board President
Last year, it was rain. This year, record heat.
But nothing dampened the spirits of those celebrating Juneteenth Saturday in the Beer Garden on the Steele County Free Fairgrounds. The annual event was organized by the Alliance for Greater Equity, an Owatonna nonprofit focused on building equity and community.
Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, recognizes the end of slavery but specifically, the day–June 19, 1865–Union soldiers arrived in Texas to start enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued more than two years earlier.
Board member Jamie Stanislav said while freedom was the theme, “we want it to be a celebration of the freedom.”
“We want families to come, for people to feel welcomed,” she said, “and, I would say, for people to also be ready to learn more.”
A typical turnout for the event is about 100, but a lower number braved weather that triggered a National Weather Service extreme heat warning. Organizers had plenty of water on hand, fans going, doors wide open, and ice cream from the new La Michoacana shop for sale.
Making a difference
While attendance may have been down, a crew of 20 volunteers managed activities that included a bounce house, face painting, and dancing to music by the Johnnie Brown Band–along with food from Twisted Chicken food truck.
Tonia Sanchez said she started volunteering for the event after seeing the opportunity posted at Federated Insurance, where she works. That was three years ago, and she’s been back every year since. She said knowing the work AFGE does in building community led her to sign up.
“Any time there is an event for the community, I like to volunteer,” she said. “I like to make a difference.”
Board chair Rebecca Moore said AFGE hosts this event every year in the spirit of joy “and to make sure our community is aware of this holiday, and that we really celebrate Black joy and Black culture” as well as educating about the holiday.
Moore acknowledged some negative social media buzz around Juneteenth but said, “if you can't celebrate the end of slavery, I would wonder why not. Why is that an issue? So, we still think this is a great event…There's laughter, joy, and music when people are here, so we're going to keep doing it.”
Moore said bringing people together, creating opportunities for appreciation, understanding, and awareness, is what AFGE is all about.
“I love this event, because it is the heart of our community," she said, “and it's a good cross-section of our community. What other event do you see African Americans, Latino, Somali Americans, white people together? We take pride in that, in bringing people together.”
