Juneteenth celebration comes alive in Las Vegas
Music and dancing created a joyful atmosphere at Lorenzi Park as community members gathered Friday afternoon to celebrate Juneteenth.
More than 400 people attended the Las Vegas celebration commemorating the date 155 years ago when the last enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their emancipation two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
The event was hosted by Save Our Sons, an organization founded in 2015 to provide mentorship and other programs for at-risk youth.
“In this hour we live in, there is so much division, and the number one goal is to unify not just our local community, but the entire nation,” said Kimm Muhammad, a Save Our Sons board member. “If the light is focused on our city, we can bring some attention on the national level to the importance of Juneteenth.”
Curtis Coleman Jr., 12, has been involved in Save Our Sons since his father, Curtis Coleman, founded the organization. Coleman Jr. said he was eager to celebrate Juneteenth with Save Our Sons because “it shows me what results you get from giving back to the community.”
Ten vendors — set up 10 feet apart to maintain social distancing guidelines — sold items including food, jewelry and hair care products to attendees, and other booths provided information about organizations such as Zeta Phi Beta Sorority.
Sparkle Williams, president of the sorority’s Theta Omicron Zeta chapter in Las Vegas, said the day is a “celebration for our ancestors” and an important opportunity for younger members of the Black community — like the young women in the sorority’s mentorship program — to learn about their history.
Tymara Walker, a professional singer in Las Vegas, opened the event’s program with the Black national anthem. Friday’s performance marked her first time singing the anthem, “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody almost four weeks ago.
“It definitely feels different,” Walker said. “We kind of feel like we’re back at square one.”
As the crowd grew later in the afternoon, the Olabisi African Dance and Drum Ensemble performed, creating a swell of cheers among attendees. Ensemble founder Hasani Palacio said the group helps keep the tradition of African dance alive in the Las Vegas Valley.
“Juneteenth is a celebration acknowledging African liberation, and part of African liberation is the drums,” Palacio said. “The drums were used to communicate to people that something was going on, and what’s more important than letting people know that we’re free?”
Other spoken word poets and musicians took the stage as festivities continued, including Las Vegas musician and performer Trice Be “Phantom Magnetiq.”
Be performed an oral history piece combining song, spoken words and dance, which reflects a part of Black heritage that he said is not often shared. The most efficient way to spread information about his ancestors, Be said, is by getting up on stage and performing it.
When crowds dispersed after performances, Be was often the only person left dancing.
“This is one of the things that’s supposed to happen at Juneteenth — that people get together and dance, sing songs, chant and celebrate the symbolism of this occasion,” Be said. “The more we celebrate Juneteenth, the more that it becomes real in real time.”
Assemblyman William McCurdy also addressed attendees in the evening, acknowledging the persisting fight against police brutality amid protests since Floyd’s death. He said the Juneteenth celebration offers an opportunity for people to “dig in” and speak up against injustice “at every level of the system.”
“All power to the people,” McCurdy said, and the crowd echoed, “All power to the people.”
Contact Amanda Bradford at abradford@reviewjournal.com. Follow @amandabrad_uc on Twitter.
