Juneteenth celebration gets Portsmouth crowd moving for dance party

Karen Dandurant, Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

PORTSMOUTH — Najee Brown set an upbeat tone for Sunday's Juneteenth event at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park.

"If there is anything missing from this city, it's dance," said Brown, founder of Theater For The People. "I'm going to teach you guys to dance, and we are going to have the largest dance party Portsmouth has ever seen."

And they did. Theater For The People led the way with its "Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity," bringing the crowd of people along to celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday in honor of the emancipation of enslaved Americans.

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A street-wide dance party during the performance of "Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity“ led by Theater For The People at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth Sunday, June 19, 2022.
A street-wide dance party during the performance of "Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity“ led by Theater For The People at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth Sunday, June 19, 2022.

Joyous Juneteenth dance party

Anyone walking by the park Sunday saw a joyous dance party in the street, part of a series of Juneteenth events offered by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.

"Uproar derived from African culture and dance, the art of stepping was created by the enslaved when enslavers refused to let them communicate with drums," a description of the event from the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire states.

"Since the 1800s, we in Portsmouth have celebrated Juneteenth, emancipation day," said JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire (BHTNH). "We have been doing Juneteenth events for four years. It is healing when we all come together to do this work."

"Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity,“ a Juneteenth performance by Theater For The People at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth combines high energy performances with words of solidarity and inspiration Sunday, June 19, 2022.
"Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity,“ a Juneteenth performance by Theater For The People at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth combines high energy performances with words of solidarity and inspiration Sunday, June 19, 2022.

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"I think these events have been really good," said Saniyah Bolton, co-director of the Youth Division of Black Lives Matter Seacoast. "I spoke at one of the events. It is so nice to see so many people come for the Juneteenth events."

"We are one nation," said Sandy Clark of Theater for the People. "We are all one race and none of us are free if some of us are not free. Our history must be told truthfully."

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Najee Brown, founder of Theater For The People, gives a dance lesson during "Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity,“ a Juneteenth performance at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth Sunday, June 19, 2022.
Najee Brown, founder of Theater For The People, gives a dance lesson during "Uproar: A Celebration of African American Creativity,“ a Juneteenth performance at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth Sunday, June 19, 2022.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'Uproar' Juneteenth dance party in Portsmouth NH gets crowd moving