SUNY coordinates Juneteenth Commemoration in City
Jun. 19—PLATTSBURGH — Get a Juneteenth jump at a Plattsburgh commemoration from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Trinity Park.
Speakers will include SUNY Plattsburgh President Dr. Alexander Enyedi, Dr. Michelle Cromwell, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at the college; representatives from the City and Town of Plattsburgh and others.
Since mid-week the official Juneteenth flag has flown on campus as well as at City Hall, the Clinton County Government Center and the North Star Underground Railroad Museum at Ausable Chasm.
"I'm very excited that it is now officially a holiday, and now African-Americans can now say they have an independence day that they can celebrate," Jacqueline Madison, president of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association, said.
"Juneteenth is, and I would like to point this out, is the end of legal slavery. Illegal slavery is still going on, and what are we going to do about that?"
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Juneteenth connects the historical importance of how this region contributed to the Underground Railroad, which embodied the freedom of the Black body, according to Cromwell in a news release.
"The greater Plattsburgh region was a part of that history, and it is important to highlight that activism for our community. Therefore, we commemorate it, and we celebrate it, for it gives us appreciation for what was and what can be."
Juneteenth is significant in its representation of "a moment of liberation, according to Don Papson, founder and first president of the Underground Railroad Historical Association.
"The annual commemoration challenges us to end modern forms of slavery such as human trafficking, mass incarceration and economic and political disenfranchisement," he said.
June 19, 1865 was a milestone in the history of slavery in the United States, but it has morphed into different forms; for instance, the high population of Black men imprisoned in the North Country.
"We have a disproportionate amount of Black men imprisoned in our region, which is a modern-day form of enslavement. Juneteenth will be an opportunity for our community to reflect on the idea of freedom for the Black body, because even though this celebrates freedom, for many Black people, freedom is yet to be attained or as some say, 'free-ish,'" Cromwell said.
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For many in the region — and across the country — this may be the first time hearing about Juneteenth.
Last year, New York state made Juneteenth a state holiday for the first time.
Cromwell said by holding the commemoration and raising the Juneteenth flag, "we elevate the prominence of the day."
"That's a signal that something celebratory is happening," Cromwell said.
"We then invite community members to create a shared understanding of the experience of Black people who have continuously exerted their rights and requests for freedom."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
