Lydia Morgan on the 35th Annual Juneteenth Festival
Each June for 35 years, Lydia Morgan has brought the Cincinnati community together to celebrate Juneteenth – gathering in Eden Park to eat, listen to music, dance, connect, and remember. Lydia takes us through the complicated feelings around the holiday, the family-friendly activities at the Festival, and relearning history through joy and celebration.
Interview by Olivia Taylor. Photography provided.
When and Where is the Juneteenth Festival?
The Juneteenth Festival is on the 18 and 19 of June at Eden Park.
What is the festival about?
Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. I was brought up thinking emancipation and freedom are the same, and they're not. The emancipation proclamation was a document signed by President Lincoln that said to the southern states, “If you don't come back to the union, we're going to be freeing your slaves.” And of course, by that time, the Confederacy had been established and the majority of the South felt no obligation to listen to anything. So of course they didn't come back. Consequently, we got involved with the war and the Civil War ended in April of 1865.
I didn't know this, but I have learned over time, wars in those days, even though the contracts were signed saying the war was over, battles were still being fought, because they didn't get the message right away. As such, the slaves in Galveston, Texas were not free until June. The Union General came down and saw that they were still working in the fields and read General Order No. 3, which was news about the Emancipation Proclamation, and the slaves were free – and of course, they celebrated.
But then you think about them celebrating their freedom all day, all afternoon. You don't have to go back to the farm or plantation. But the sad thing is, and this hit me like a rock about two years ago: what are you free to do? They were on somebody else's land and so after you've done all this celebration of freedom, what do you do? A lot of times, there was a lot of violence associated with reconstruction. That's the part of Juneteenth that is sad and serious.
On July 4, we celebrate our freedom, our freedom from the British, and it never occurred to me growing up, that we [Black people] weren't free. I taught for 33 years and when you're in a classroom, you're talking about one thing or another and then you're talking about history all of a sudden. I always preface it with my kids – nobody in this room had anything to do with what went on then. Nobody. You can only be responsible for what goes on now and what you do now. That's the way you've got to live.
What are the activities at the Juneteenth Festival?
It’s a wonderful time – a lot of food, family, a lot of history, and a lot of fun. We're gonna be having a lot of talented musicians and singers like the Hues Corporation and Ms. Jazz. It is really two days of live music. There will be a Father’s Day concert Sunday afternoon with the Charles Fold Singers, RaMeco and TWC, Archie Byers and Remnant, the James McCray Choral Ensemble, Ethan Henderson, Neva Ford Nation, and liturgical dancers. We’ll have a lot of celebration food. Most people will have hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and deviled eggs – it’s a big picnic.
In the children's area, we will have a petting zoo, and the Cincinnati Public Library and the Kennedy Heights Arts Center will have activities. We will have face painting and free horseback riding. Every child will be receiving the book about Juneteenth. We will also have the Cincinnati Art Museum there, and in addition to activities in the children's area, they will be doing a scavenger hunt – you can do the scavenger hunt inside the art museum.
We do projects with the Kennedy Heights Arts Center. This year we did a presentation called Voices of Freedom. We had 10 artists who were challenged to present new work that showed the emotions of the newly freed slaves or enslaved people. And then with that, we also had 10 poets and each one took one picture and interpreted the picture into poetry. That is going to be a part of the festival. We're going to have the Cincinnati Art Museum help us put together a gallery under the tents and they will have the paintings which also have a Q.R. code that allows you to hear the poets while you are looking at the picture.
The 105th Regiment Infantry US Colored Troops reenactors will be there. We'll also have the Buffalo Soldier reenactors there also.
The health department will be doing COVID-19 testing as well as COVID-19 vaccines for people who need a booster or haven't had vaccines. We’ll also have blood pressure checks.
Additionally, there will be different organizations that give out information about things that are particularly important to the health of African Americans. The League of Women Voters will be there. We'll have card playing and there'll be a couple of physical exercises – Tai Chi and calisthenics.
We'll have representation of Hispanic entertainment. We’ll have Brazilian singing and Samba dancers. I have come to recognize that North America and South America were both connected to African enslavement.
In addition, Wade in The Water will be on June 12 at Smale Park where we will dance along the river. Water is an important image in African American spirituals. “Deep River” finds hope on the other side of the river. “Go Down, Moses” is a spiritual of deliverance in which Pharaoh’s armies were drowned in the Red Sea, and Harriet Tubman sang “Wade in the Water.”
Juneteenth flag-raising ceremonies will be on June 16 at 10 am at Cincinnati Art Museum, at 11 am at Hamilton Co. Courthouse, and at 1 pm at Cincinnati City Hall.
For the first time ever, Cincinnati will have a Juneteenth parade on June 20. The parade will begin in the West End and proceed to City Hall.
What advice would you give to non-Black folks in relation to celebrating Juneteenth?
I would say celebrate. Celebrate with everybody. Come down. Juneteenth is a part of American history. Everybody needs to be involved. It will make our community a healthier place to be. The history that most of us learned in school was doctored in many ways, so the more we can do to tell our true history to everyone, the more we can begin to live accordingly.