2023 Gloucester County Juneteenth by Gloucester County NAACP

Gloucester County 2023 Edition

CELEBRATION

JUNETEENTH

Thank you to our Sponsors. Without your support this event, remembering Black History, would not have been able.

Gloucester County

12:00 pm

12:15 pm

12:20 pm

12:30 pm

12:40 pm

12:50 pm

12:55 pm

1:00 pm

Today's DJ: “DJ Non-Stop”

Welcome/Introduction

Opening Prayer: Pastor Tony Knight

Black NationalAnthem : Leatrice Lambert

Acknowledgement of Local/ Elected Officials

Message from our Sponsor

Announcement of Softball Game 1:00 Start

Nettie Long

Universal African Dance & Drummers

24Tye

True Lyrics

Juanita Smalls

Introspective

Kenny KP Walker, Jr

Announcement of 2023 Scholarship Winners

Message from our Sponsors

DJ’s Option

Paradise Crysty

Imani Birdsong

3:00 pm

3:45 pm

4:00 pm

4:30 pm

Line Dancing and OPEN MIC

Announcement of SOFTBALL WINNER

Thank You for Sharing your Day with US

Clean up– please stay to assist

5:00 pm CONCERT:

Deja Groove Band

FREE T-Shirts, Mr. Softee Ice Cream Cone, and Water Ice while supplies last! Vendors, Food Trucks, Music, Face Painting, Kid’s ZONE and More

Acenda Integrated Health (Connecting NJ)

ALF Solutions LLC

Alice Paul Institute

AmazingLy Eats by Lys

American Association of Blacks in Energy

Avon

BLVCK HONEY INK

Bondie’s Buddy Concessions

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Century 21

Chosen Vessels Kingdom Candle Company

City of Woodbury

Comcast

Cooper Health

Deptford Education Association

Elegant jewelry

Elizabeth's Touch

EyeAmFearfullyAndWonderfullyMade

FBI

First Harvest

Forever Food Festivals Co.

Garden State Bar Association

GC Clerk's Office

GC NAACP

Gina's daughter soulfood and Catering

Gloucester County Democratic Committee

House of Cherry LLC

Independent Scentsy Consultant

Kona Ice

Ladies of Distinction Fashions

LegalShield

Live. Eat. Be Healthy. LLC

Lollipop Boutique

Love Naa

MadameSeamoss

Moore Than A Sample

Mr. Softee

My main squeeze llc

Nami

Next Level Investment Group

None

One Stop Party Rentals & More

Planned Parenthood Southern NJ

PrimeAmerica

Protect Your Peace

Royal International Market

Run With Vision, Inc

Samaritan

Sarima Custom style

Services Empowering Rights of Victims

Sherry Little

The Better Give Back Foundation, Inc.

Utopia Africa Designs

Vayana Organics

Women of Color

Woodbury Fire Dept

Woodbury Police Dept

YMCA

Yogafitmom, LLC

Gloucester County

NAACP / WOODBURY CITY /PROSECUTOR ’ S OFFICE PRESENTS

Cele-

• Music

• Line Dancing

• Food

• Free Mr. Softee

• Free Water Ice

June 17, 2023

12 noon – 4:00 pm

• Vendors

• Soft Ball Game

• Kids Zone

• Games and more

5:00 pm Concert Featuring Deja Groove Band

Stewart Lake Park

235 Red BankAvenue, Wdbry

FREE- Shuttle Buses @ -Wayne Dickerson Park; City Hall (rear); Francis Field; Soccer Complex; Evergreen Avenue School; & The Manor (Naomi & Manor Avenue)

Deja Groove Band Concert @ 5:00pm

Event Sponsors: COMCAST; COOPER HEALTH; FIRST HARVEST CU; BOWMAN & CO

Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble

AC Joseph Media

Juneteenth 2023: Gloucester County NAACP Opens Door to Holiday’s Impact

19 hours ago AC Joseph MediaBY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media

WOODBURY For Laura Williams, Juneteenth is a part of American history and African American history, and she hoped that participation in the Gloucester County NAACP’s Juneteenth celebration at Stewart Lake Park on Saturday, June 17, will help everyone learn more about it.

Williams, an award-winning counselor at Deptford Middle School, joined hundreds of others in celebrating Juneteenth with the NAACP’s annual festival, which moved from Deptford to Woodbury for the first time this year.

The Gloucester County NAACP celebration, led by President Loretta Winters, is one of the “must stop by” events during South Jersey’s Juneteenth weekend and it did not disappoint with its numerous vendors, music, food, annual softball game and activities for the kids.

The Universal African Dance and Drum ensemble performed inspirational numbers while the Deja

Gloucester NAACP Juneteenth Celebration at Stewart Lake Park in Woodbury. Photo by Meredith Winner, Mer-Made Photography

Groove Band took over the stage with a free concert in the evening.

Williams represented the Deptford Education Association. In December, Williams was recognized by the New Jersey Education Association as the State School Counselor of the Year because of her commitment to students.

On Saturday, her son Ozias Williams, a student at Deptford High School, sat next to her with Deptford Education Association Vice President Shannon Pizzuta. While some states, like Florida, have attempted to erase any discussion of race in schools, Williams said Juneteenth is an example of why the opposite should be happening.

“I think they’re missing out on the idea that we have a responsibility to teach everything, and we have a responsibility to teach the truth of American history,” Williams said. “That’s just what it is. You can’t erase it, you can’t take it away.”

Williams said when you look at African American history, it’s a matter of simply looking at the information as a researcher to find out what is missing and what is needed.

“When you look at data, you can find out where the gaps are and then make intentional efforts to seek out people who are missing,” Williams said. “You can take that concept from the classroom all the way up to the federal government. You can use data to make intentional efforts to seek out people who don’t have the same opportunities.”

While the holiday of Juneteenth was kept alive by individual families and small communities over generations before it became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, some of the participants and vendors on Saturday said they never heard of Juneteenth until three years ago when New Jersey first talked about making it a state holiday.

Now, many vendors said it has become their mission to help spread the word about the positive meaning of the holiday.

Tasheba Moore and Audrey Sample, who traveled from Pennsylvania to take part in the Woodbury celebration, said they met while their children played on the same youth basketball team. They ended up getting to know each other while working the concession stand during those games. At the end of the season, they joined together to decorate the end-of-year banquet.

“From the very first day, we learned we liked to do the same things,” Moore said. “We were spending most of our time together, so we said we might as well join forces and start our own business and it’s been awesome. A lot of the things we have here are made by hand and are one of a kind.”

Moore and Sample showed off their unique tumblers, pins, keychains, ID badges, t-shirts and numerous other personalized gifts.

Community advocate and Gloucester County NAACP member Rachel Green managed the Acenda Integrated Health vendor booth, next to Darlema Bey, with the National Alliance of Mental Illness, NAMI, of New Jersey.

They were joined by Yolanda Melville, the new senior counsel and director of community outreach in the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Before working for the Attorney General’s Office, she served as a partner in the Atlantic City law firm of Cooper Levenson and vice president of the Atlantic City branch of the NAACP.

Dawn Shalaam, Kathleen Dorris Fran Harwell, manned another booth with Legal Shield insurance, which protects customers with on-the-spot legal services. Harwell, a member of the Woodbury City Council, said she was pleased to see the Gloucester County NAACP move its Juneteenth celebration to her town and hoped it will be the beginning of a long relationship.

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Deja Groove Band

The Game Changers

After the Union Army captured New Orleans in 1862, slave owners in Confederate states migrated to Texas with more than 150,000 enslaved Black persons. For 3 years, even after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation

Proclamation, enslaved Black Americans in Texas remained in brutal bondage, immorally and illegally deprived of their freedom and basic dignity. On June 19, 1865 over 2 years after President Lincoln declared all enslaved persons free Major General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas.

Those who were freed from bondage celebrated their long-overdue emancipation on June 19. Today, our Nation commemorates Juneteenth: a chance to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise of America to every American.

This Juneteenth, we are freshly reminded that the poisonous ideology of racism has not yet been defeated it only hides. Our Nation continues to mourn the 10 lives senselessly taken in Buffalo, New York, and grieve for the families who have lost a piece of their soul. As we confront the awful reality of yet another gunman massacring innocent people in the name of hatred, racism, and fear, we must meet this moment with renewed resolve. We must stand together against white supremacy and show that bigotry and hate have no safe harbor in America.

Juneteenth is a day to reflect on both bondage and freedom a day of both pain and purpose. It is, in equal measure, a remembrance of both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, as well as a celebration of the promise of a brighter morning to come. On Juneteenth, we remember our extraordinary capacity to heal, to hope, and to emerge from our worst moments as a stronger, freer, and more just Nation. It is also a day to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, who have endured generations of oppression in the ongoing journey toward equal justice, equal dignity, equal rights, and equa l opportunity in America.

Last year, I was proud to sign bipartisan legislation establishing Juneteenth as our newest Federal holiday, so that all Americans can feel the power of this day, learn from our history, celebrate our progress, and recognize and engage in thework that continues. Great nations do not ignore their most painful moments they face them. We grow stronger as a country when we honestly confront our past injustices, including the profound suffering and injustice wrought by slavery and generations of segregation and discrimination against Black Americans. To heal, we must remember. We must never rest until the promise of our Nation is made real for all Americans.

The emancipation of enslaved Black Americans was not the end of our Nation’s work to deliver on the promise of equality it was only the beginning. On Juneteenth, we recommit to our shared work to ensure racial justice, equity, and equality in America. We commemorate the centuries of struggle and progress led by abolitionists, educators, civil rights advocates, lawyers, activists, trade unionists, religious leaders, public officials, and everyday Americans who have brought ourNation closer to fulfilling its promise.

As my good friend, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, said, “Our children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see.” Together as a Nation, let us continue our work together to build a country we are all proud to pass along to our children one where the foundational promises and ideals of America ring true for every child and every family.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 19, 2022, as Juneteenth Day of Observance. I call upon the people of the United States to acknowledge and condemn the history of slavery in our Nation and recognize how the impact of America’s original sin remains. I call on every American to celebrate the emancipation of all Black Americans and commit together to eradicate systemic racism and inequity that can never be tolerated and must always be fought against.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

JUNETEENTH DAY OF OBSERVANCE, 2022

Governor Murphy Signs Legislation Designating Juneteenth as a State and Public Holiday on 09/10/2020

TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today signed legislation (S19), which designates the third Friday in June as a State and public holiday, known as Juneteenth Day. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform enslaved people of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and their freedom.

“It gives me great pride to celebrate emancipation and New Jersey’s great diversity by designating Juneteenth as an official State holiday.” said Governor Murphy. “Commemorating this date is just one component of our collective approach to end a generational cycle of pain and injustice that has gone on for far too long. Every Juneteenth, we will celebrate the end of the physical chains which once held Black Americans down. While more work lies ahead to undo the oppression that remains, Juneteenth is important marker that reminds us of our mission to create a society that enables our Black communities to achieve the full equality which they deserve.”

“

Juneteenth is a reminder that centuries later, not all of us are treated equally and that freedom and democracy are not a given. Our fight for civil rights and freedom from discrimination and oppression continues today,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. “Now, Juneteenth will forever be observed and celebrated so that we can collectively reflect upon the indelible mark that slavery has left on our country as we fight for meaningful reforms. I commend and thank Governor Murphy and the legislators who have chosen to make Juneteenth a State holiday.”

“I am a direct descendant of slavery. My great grandmother, my great-great grandmother, that is my family. It is not even a past stain,” said SZA. “It is a current reality that we are living through the post traumatic slave syndrome, the PTSD, and the effects of that currently, right now. Thank you, Governor Murphy for this.”

“

Juneteenth marks a day of freedom for Black Americans who suffered the cruelty of slavery and an opportunity to honor the history and contributions of African Americans,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “This takes on greater significance as the entire country is confronting the racism and inequality that is the bitter legacy of slavery. We can use June 19th and the days that follow to undue past harms and renew our commitment to justice and equality for all.”

We have a lot to learn from our history and unfortunately the delay in ending slavery and the lasting impact the institution has on our country is not taught enough,” said Senator Sandra Cunningham. “We want everyone to remember that Juneteenth is part of the history of all Americans. Hopefully, through this law, as well as deeper education and a more honest review of our nation's history, more New Jerseyans can realize the significance of Juneteenth and understand the systemic issues that have continued to plague our country since that day in 1865.’”

“Juneteenth is not only a holiday on the ending of slavery in this country, but also a reflection on the history of slavery and the suffering sustained by the Black community since 1619,” said Senator Ron Rice. “Black history in this country is a continued battle for social progress, and right now we are seeing people from all backgrounds fight for that progress and improve upon what has been gained. I am glad more people are learning about Juneteenth because the more we educate people, the more we can start a dialogue on how to fix the racial divide in this country. I look forward to Juneteenth next year where everyone in New Jersey will celebrate and reflect together.”

“This is a way of recognizing the end of slavery in America as an important milestone in the Nation’s history,” said Senator Joe Cryan. “A state holiday won’t change everything, but it will provide a platform to increase the understanding of what has happened in the past so that we can learn from it. When we recognize the experiences of history, we are better for it. We can be enriched as a state and more able to move towards equality for everyone.”

In a joint-statement, Assemblymembers Jamel Holley, Benjie Wimberly, and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson said:

“We’re at another set of crossroads in this country’s history—just as we were in 1863— where we can decide to move humanity forward by once again acknowledging the wrongs committed against African Americans and taking bold action to correct them. A visual illustration of the impact of centuries of systematic and institutionalized racism has our country reeling over the question, ‘Why?’ Why does this continue to persist in our communities today? Juneteenth was a defining moment in American History, claiming the beginning of African American independence in this country. It is time for the commemoration of a pivotal moment in history to become an official state holiday, underscoring its importance to our communities and giving time for reflection on how far we have come and have to go to achieve equality and justice for all.”