Pierce County families celebrate Juneteenth at Wright Park event in Tacoma
Andreiana Carter had memories of her grandmother taking her to Juneteenth events, including some at Wright Park.
She sometimes performed at those celebrations with African Drum and Dance, a group that her grandmother, Carolyn Gore, started.
And last year, the 27-year-old wanted to organize one.
“No one in my generation really knew about Juneteenth, so last year I came together with my aunt and mom and their friends, and I was telling them about how I would love to do a Juneteenth event,” Carter said.
The celebration that followed drew more than 1,000 people to Wright Park in Tacoma, and returned Saturday as families gathered for the 2nd Annual Still We Rise! Juneteenth Celebration.
“What it looked like for me last year was pulling the community together and providing a place where we could celebrate our culture,” said Candace Wesley, who helped spearhead the event. “Celebrate our independence and embrace who we are as a people. Reminding each other of our self worth and our value being contributing factors as it relates to this country being built. Reminding people of color of their greatness as overcomers, as inventors, as people of strength, endurance and resilience.”
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas June 19, 1865 with news that the war was over and enslaved people were free. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was two years before, it wasn’t enforced in many places until after the war.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday with a bill President Joe Biden signed Thursday, and Pierce County and the City of Tacoma recognized June 19 as Juneteenth this past week.
The Wright Park event drew people from across Pierce County.
“We had community members sharing their talents, their gifts, soul food,” Wesley said. “We had vendors vending their merchandise, displaying their creativity, ultimately leaving the park that day uplifted, rejuvenated and ready for the next phase. ... We decided to come together and celebrate Juneteenth 253 again at Wright Park, providing a place where the children can play hard, families can laugh loud.”
Eva Crawford, 8, sold beaded bracelets at the celebration that she made, as part of her “Eva’s Arm Candy,” business.
“I feel like when I make money I can help people,” Crawford said. “... and I can express myself.”
She and her cousin, 9-year-old Charlotte Davis, said they were excited about exploring nature at the park Saturday. They found squirrels, birds and butterflies.
Asked about the event, they agreed it was about celebrating and about remembering.
“When the slaves were free, lots of people celebrated it, but not a lot, so we’re here to celebrate it,” Crawford said.
“Juneteenth is very special for that,” Davis added.
She said she recently watched a video about Juneteenth in school.
Elijah Shanks, 14, manned a booth at the celebration with his football program, Heir 253, hoping to recruit more players.
“I didn’t learn about it until like a month ago, but I think it’s really big,” he said about Juneteenth, which he said was a celebration of Black freedom.
He said he thought he’d be back next year.
Community effort
The Wright Park event was organized by JCW and Associates as a component of the grass-roots initiative #TacomaCeaseFire, and was spearheaded by Wesley, Carter, Regina Gore-Newman, Derrick Luckett, James Watson, Crystal Erickson and Tonya Gore.
“We all came together with concerns about our city, with concerns about the morale of our city,” Wesley said. “... I can itemize everything that’s not going in our favor, but for that day when you can look and see everyone coming together to celebrate, it was beautiful.”
They emphasized that it was a community effort, with support from Tacoma Urban League, Hilltop Action Coalition, Metro Parks Tacoma, Foundational Black America, Frontline Finish, LegallyBLACK, Black Panther Party-Tacoma, The New Generation, Sisters in Solidarity, and Carnival Time Rentals.
“We are gifted people, we are blessed people, and anything that’s positive, anything that’s positive, there’s always going to be a negative force trying to stop it from happening,” Wesley said. “... The hope is that people understand no matter how long it takes, no matter what you go through, if you rise to the occasion, change can, will and it does take place.”
There were local artists at the park Saturday, music, gift bags for dads in advance of Father’s Day, and certificates of appreciation given to about 40 unsung heroes in the community.
One of those honored was Ginny Parham, for her work with Families Shoulder to Shoulder, a group that supports incarcerated people who are preparing for resentencing proceedings or clemency.
“I felt like it was such a privilege,” she said about the award.
She said in previous years she has celebrated Juneteenth in prison with her 42-year-old son. He’s expected to be released soon, and she said she’s looking forward to bringing him to the Wright Park celebration next year.
“He said ‘Mom, you’re doing it, you’re a social advocate for justice,’” she said about his reaction to the award.
Making Juneteenth a federal holiday, she said, was long overdue.
Wesley said Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), state Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest), state Rep. Melanie Morgan (D-Parkland), Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Lakewood Councilmember Mary Moss planned to be at the celebration.
Morgan sponsored House Bill 1016, which makes Juneteenth a state legal holiday.
Carter said the Wright Park celebration “was a vision of the African American community coming together in a positive way, and not thinking about everything that’s going on in the world right now, and just having fun.”
She wore a shirt Saturday with a symbol of an eye, representing the name of a foundation, “Through the Eyes of a Child,” that her grandmother had always wanted to start.
“I really do hope they continue this and I want it to be generational,” she said. “I want it to stick with people. ... I want this to be something that they can celebrate for years on end at Wright Park.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2021 at 1:51 PM.
