Lorain community Juneteenth event celebrates fifth year

LORAIN — Gen. Johnnie Wilson Park saw a steady stream of visitors Sunday, as hundreds of Lorain residents gathered for the fifth annual Juneteenth community celebration in the park. The celebration was originally organized by Lorain business owner Kimyata Hawthorne in 2020 to both commemorate the holiday and get residents out of the house and connected to resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. A half-decade later the event is larger than ever, but the focus on bringing the community together and providing help remains. "My goal is to be able to get the resources to the community," said Hawthorne, who owns the Hair Love Beauty salon in Lorain. "The main goal was to have the resources there to get to the people, (but) also for everybody to have fun." Local nonprofits and government agencies that can provide resources to residents were in attendance, as was a food truck and other vendors. Hawthorne said that while the event does have some vendors who sell items, the bulk of the activities are free and community funded. "The event is 100-percent community donated. We start at zero every year," Hawthorne said. "They donate food, time, resources (and) talent. That's what I love the most because that's what it's all about." Donations from the community provide for free hot dogs, hamburgers, drinks and other snacks. Free entertainment included a DJ, bounce castle, dance routines and multiple sporting events to compete in. Kids could participate in an obstacle course race or basketball knockout tournament. For the first time in the event's history there was a competition for adults in the form of a cornhole tournament. Also totally free were books detailing Black history, the story of Juneteenth and other topics, given out at a booth run by former Lorain Schools teacher and principal Loretta Jones. Jones is also a board member for the Harrison Cultural Community Center, which has been commemorating Juneteenth for nearly 30 years. "It's about friends, fun and free," Jones said to a student who came to her booth to ask for a free bracelet. By the time he walked away, Jones made sure he left with a children's book on Black identity as well. "Read that to your sister," she called after him. Educating kids as well as the wider community about Black history and culture has always been important to Jones, she said. She said she did not know much about Juneteenth and its history when a teacher, but she is now making up for lost time by "helping the next generation" like Hawthorne push the celebration of the day to the forefront. "I'm 74, and I didn't know in my era about this day," Jones said. "It had been around for a long time, but when it actually came to light what the history was, I was like 'wow, I should've been teaching this to my children, the meaning behind (Juneteenth).' " Jones' commitment to continue educating the community after her retirement led to Hawthorne choosing her to be the member of the community honored during the celebration. "I was totally surprised," Jones said. "It's just an honor and a blessing to be able to be loved." Also committed to sharing the history of the day was Inez James, president of the Lorain Negro Business and Professional Women's Club. James spoke to the crowded park dressed as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, who she sometimes portrays at speaking events, and recounted the history of Juneteenth and slavery in America. She recounted that slavery in the U.S. began in 1619 in Jamestown, Virginia, when the first enslaved Africans, primarily from West Africa, began to arrive in the then-colony. Finally, James arrived at June 19, 1865, when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger proclaimed General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves in the state were to be set free. "They were still enslaved there. They did not know that they were free," James said. "As (Granger) and his troops marched through Galveston, Texas, letting them know that they were free, it was that day on June 19, 1865, that all men were free." Obalafia Lee also addressed the crowd, thanking James for recounting the history of Juneteenth. Lee is the founder of Noble Hearts, a group he said he founded with the purpose of teaching meditation and mindfulness in Lorain County. He spoke Sunday about the importance of Juneteenth as a celebration of Black Americans' shared culture and identity. "What's really important is that when they came to West Africa, they didn't find slaves … they came to civilized people," he said. "They came to people that had a history and a culture. You never had to rely on anybody else telling you that you are free." Lee said that those in attendance should honor Juneteenth as a celebration of freedom and culture, but should also take it as a chance to look internally and make sure they were living freely with themselves. "The weight of not being yourself is like the weight of slave chains, trapped within the confines of someone else's definition of yourself," he said. "What is freedom without love? Not accepting the skin you're in is a form of bondage… What's the use if you take the physical chains off if you still hate yourself, family?" Hawthorne said making sure that the people of Lorain, particularly the children, understand their identity, history and themselves was a key purpose of the festival. "With the state that the world is in, or at least the country, knowing who you are is important," she said. "And that goes for everyone, but especially for us making sure that the African community know where we come from and where they can go. There's nothing stopping us, we just have to make sure we keep striving, pushing forward and giving 150 percent." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.