Crowds hit freedom fest

By Jordan Cohen

They celebrated freedom in the rain at Warren’s Quinby Park.

WARREN — Organizers say Saturday’s seventh annual Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom at Quinby Park on the west side is important for historical and contemporary reasons.

“It’s a celebration of our freedom from slavery, but it’s also about what we do today,” said Mary Ann Franklin, president of Community Concerned Citizens II, the event’s sponsor.

Franklin said Juneteenth was the name given to the week of June 13-19 by former slaves in Texas to observe the week they learned about their freedom. The Texas slaves did not learn they had been freed until 1865, two years after President Lincoln delivered his Emancipation Proclamation.

“After their freedom, the slaves encouraged their families to be educated, and that is what we are doing today,” Franklin said.

The daylong celebration included music and youth activities along with speeches and displays on health, education and money by representatives of the Trumbull County Health Department, the Warren YMCA, and the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority. Samuel Lockhart, Jr., director of public service for the city of East Cleveland, was featured speaker.

A huge fallen tree, a casualty of Friday evening’s storms, lay near the entrance to Quinby Park. Rains appeared to hold down attendance Saturday morning, and that troubled Angela McKinnon, 49, of Warren.

“This is all about our history and I wish more people would come,” McKinnon said. “If they can sit in the rain to watch a football game, they can be here.

“They need to get their priorities together.”

Several Warren Harding High School students said they hadn’t thought about the history behind Juneteenth before they came to the park to watch the festivities.

“It [slavery] only popped into my mind when they talked about it,” said Jakira Barnes, 15.

“I really didn’t think about it either, but this is nice for the community,” said May Moore, 16.

Andrea Workman, 26, coach of the Warren All-Star Cheerleaders who performed at the park, said Juneteenth observances are all about life in Warren today.

“This is a safe place for people to come together from all parts of the community,” Workman said. “Not many people from other parts of Warren come to the west side, and they should.”

One person who is not from Warren but active with CCC is Mel Milliron, a health educator with the Trumbull County Health Department who lives in Southington.

“To me, Juneteenth is not just about freedom from slavery,” Milliron said. “This is about freedom from drug addiction, poverty, low self-esteem and all those problems that people become slaves to.”

CCC president Franklin said the contemporary importance of Juneteenth should not minimize its historical importance.

“Our ancestors fought, cried and died for our freedom, and we should not forget it,” Franklin said.

“This is also our independence day just like the Fourth of July.”