COMMUNITY JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

On Monday, June 19th at 6:30 pm, all members of the community are invited to enjoy music, food, and good fellowship at a free Juneteenth program to be held at Willow Grove Presbyterian Church located at 1961 Raritan Rd, Scotch Plains, NJ.
Juneteenth is the oldest and the most popular annual national celebration of African American emancipation from slavery. It marks the day, June 19, 1865, when news finally came to Texas that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were now freed, fully two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Thanks to sponsorship by Social Justice Matters, Inc. (SJM) and Scotch Plains Public Library, participation by students from YMCA Achievers and the Black Student Union (BSU) of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, and the hospitality of Willow Grove Presbyterian Church, the community will be hear music by professional pianists Gil Chapman and Fred Fischer on keyboards, with vocal accompaniment by Lauren Scales and Stephen Fuller respectively. A sing-along will follow the performances. Teens from Y Achievers will provide context and an overview of the Juneteenth celebration, its importance to the Black community, and its relevance to modern-day America. BSU students will present, The Black Student Union will present “Freedom’s Song: A Musical Journey from Negro Spirituals to Hip Hop, examining ” the role music played and continues to play in the march toward freedom.
After a 90-minute program, the program will move outdoors to enjoy free refreshments, including Kona ice, participatory art with artist Mansa K. Mussa and games organized by the Y Achievers and the Black Student Union (BSU) of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School.
Community Juneteenth has been proudly supported by a grant to The Friends of Scotch Plains Public Library from Investors Foundation, and by SJM through fund-raising efforts at Mara’s Café and Bakery in Fanwood.
This event is offered to the public as the finale event to the Voices from the Margins: Connecting our Stories grant project awarded to Scotch Plains Public Library, Social Justice Matters, Inc. and the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education (Chhange) at Brookdale Community College. Voices from the Margins: Connecting our Stories was made possible in part by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this series do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Advance registration is recommended. Please register at www.scotlib.org/event/juneteenth/ For more information, contact the Adult Services librarians at Scotch Plains Public Library: library@scotlib.org or (908) 322-5007, x204.