Celebrating Juneteenth with jazz, friends and sunshine
Meeting friends and listening to jazz was a beautiful way to celebrate Juneteenth. Photo by Xinlin Jiang
The weather was ideal for the outdoor celebration of Juneteenth and jazz. Photo by Xinlin Jiang
The lineup of musicians at the Madison Jazz Festival Juneteenth celebration impressed the crowd. Photo by Xinlin Jiang
Plenty of people showed up to celebrate Juneteenth on the Memorial Union Terrace on Sunday, in an event held in conjunction with the Madison Jazz Festival. Juneteenth, celebrated each year on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when U.S. troops liberated nearly 200,000 Black Americans in Galveston, Texas. It’s a celebration of freedom and African American history, culture and progress. The event, organized by the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Arts + Literature Laboratory, featured artists including Black Power Dance, Marcus Porter and Oneofmani.
A few of those attending shared their thoughts about what Juneteenth means to them.
Papa-Kobina Brewoo: “I look at it more as just like another way to really celebrate the opportunities that we didn’t get before to come together now, and unapologetically, celebrate ourselves and be free with each other… I feel like it’s just a great time to just clean up, uplift, heal and reconnect and rebuild with ourselves.” Photo by Xinlin Jiang
Mme Delali (Sira Sangaré), one of the performers in the jazz festival: “Honestly, as a West African person of color as well, it’s just a day where I can be myself fully in Madison, without any restrictions… The fact that the community — white people, Black people, everybody is here — is just receiving us as human beings we really appreciate, that’s what drew me to this.” Photo by Xinlin Jiang
Lopo Lature: “I don’t feel that the country is where it needs to be in regards to the disenfranchised communities. But I think that Juneteenth global recognition now has really brought forth a lot of conversation. And so I think that for me, it’s a conversation starter, man. It’s a celebration of progress.” Photo by Xinlin Jiang
Elizabeth Snodgrass, one of the organizers: “This day is a chance to mark the importance of the holiday…. I mean, it’s a federal holiday and deserves to be recognized and celebrated. And we wanted to take part in that.” Photo by Xinlin Jiang
Tags: memorial union, recent sightings
