The Ohio River Valley District Joins Up with Juneteenth Cincinnati

The Ohio River Valley District of the West Ohio Conference participated in volunteering at the Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival on June 17. From serving hot dogs, to helping to pick up trash, to volunteering with the children’s area, we were able to provide a presence from HPCUMC at the festival to show our mutual celebration with our Black siblings for the official abolishment of slavery in the US.

To learn more about Juneteenth and the importance of our presence and collective celebration, please visit our website: http://hydeparkchurch.org/juneteenth/ by using the QR code provided.

Collaborating and Celebrating

In 2022 the Ohio River Valley District of the United Methodist Church Stop Racism Task Force approached Lydia Morgan, the founder and organizer of Cincinnati’s Juneteenth celebration for 36 years. Our request was to contribute to the work of creating the annual event. We wanted to show our commitment to Stand Against Racism by offering support to a celebration of the end of slavery in the U.S. and the beginning of a journey toward freedom for all. Lydia was thrilled that we wanted to take part and that we were “getting it”, that Juneteenth is a celebration for all. Lydia created a place for the Task Force on the planning committee and gave United Methodists an opportunity to volunteer for many of the tasks that needed doing the Saturday celebration in Eden Park.

Fast forward to the 2023 celebration.......

The Task Force provided volunteers from Church of the Saviour, Clifton, New Vision and of course, Hyde Park Community. Mary Beth Owens helped create a hospitality area for United Methodists attendees and volunteers to assemble, rest and greet each other. Meredith Menius returned for the 2nd year to the hot dog booth and was joined by Peggy Schmitt and Julie Saucerman. They honed their culinary skills and enjoyed making friends with others serving in the hot dog booth. A certain Director of Music revealed additional creative skills with his special METHODology for collecting trash. Others contributing their skills and spirit to the event were Paul Owen, Sarah Knapton, Bob Whalen and Suzanne Allen. Not only did these folks add to the success of the event they all expressed (to their friendly supervisor, Jan Seymour) how much they loved participating, making friends, having fun and all asked to return next year.

For some of us celebrating Juneteenth is a new experience and a great way to be part of the beloved community. One HPCUMC member, Marcia Hartsock, recalls attending Juneteenth in the early years when it was held in Drake Park in Kennedy Heights. She remembers it as a small, fun, community event. Over the next thirty-six years the event grew and is now attended by several thousand in Eden Park.

Having several thousand attendees makes for a lively event with two stages of performers, booths offering historical and genealogy information, health screenings, ethnic products, nonprofit services, voting information and lots of food! The several thousand also make parking difficult. Cathy and David Shick struggled to find parking but said it was well worth it. They loved checking out all the activities and greeting old friends and making new ones.

Joyce Miyasato's sister was visiting from Nashville, so they attended together and enjoyed the food and learning some of the history of the struggle for emancipation, especially about the “colored troops’ in the Civil War.

The Osterburs attended as a family. Drea and Jake both confessed, like a lot of us, that they didn’t know much about Juneteenth and had no idea that Cincinnati had been celebrating it for 36 years. They were so glad to bring Josephine and Julia so that the girls could begin to understand our country's history and why we all celebrate the freedom that Juneteenth is about.

submitted by

Jan Seymour