GIFFORD — Community leaders gathered Saturday to retell the almost abandoned history of Juneteenth, the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the U.S. In Gifford, the Juneteenth celebration featured poems, praise dances, gospel rap, a mime performance and showcased the Bahamas Junkanoo International Band. Junkanoo, a traditional celebration, has strong ties to the Caribbean and originates from West Africa.
“We have a lot of young people that don’t know anything about emancipation…the freeing of the slaves…Juneteenth. We do this to educate them and also bring people together to let them know we’re not living back in those days anymore. We can intermingle together. We can get along and communicate,” said Terri Floyd, one of the organizers and co-founder of T&T Community Enhancement Organization In Action.
“We will continue each year to make sure we pull more and more people to the knowledge of what Juneteenth means to all of us.”
Attendees indulged in seafood, barbecue, ice cream, smoothies, soul food and tropical drinks during the celebration held at Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex, located in the 4700 block of 43rd Avenue in Gifford. The Indian River Gifford Aquatic Center, located northwest of the park, offered free admission for those that attended Juneteenth. Children received free, educational books and also had their faces painted.
“All of our community is one family. We need to be able to rely on each other…one hand reaching back and pulling another one up,” said retired sheriff’s Deputy Teddy Floyd, another event organizer and co-founder of T&T Community Enhancement Organization In Action. “We need unity in our community. If you don’t have anything else to do…do something kind for somebody. A kind word would change somebody’s day.”
This year’s celebration was the second-annual Juneteenth event hosted by T&T Community Enhancement Organization In Action. Several dignitaries, including Commissioners Joe Flescher and Laura Moss, along with Sheriff Eric Flowers, made an appearance at the festivity.
Historian Jonnie Mae Perry took the stage, giving a history lesson on Juneteenth, along with Emancipation Day – Florida’s own recognition of freedom from enslavement.
“We are indeed free. Let us not only be free physically, but let’s be free in mind and spirit,” Perry said. “Enjoy this Juneteenth celebration.”
The Junkanoo Band, dressed in multi-colored costumes with African influences, performed rhythmic drumbeats as they marched and danced through the park amid spectators. Band leader Rodney Bain said that the Junkanoo Band style has African roots.
“We have different forms of music, food and culture that originate back home in the motherland that we still carry forth today,” said Bain, who was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, now lives in Fort Pierce and is an Indian River State College graduate. “It feels wonderful (to bring this here to Gifford). I get to show what I grew up doing. I love being able to pass on the culture…the art form. I want to teach everyone how to do it. If you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach you.”
Juneteenth history
On June 19, 1865, more than 250,000 Black people in slavery across Texas were freed when General Gordan Granger arrived in Galveston and read the Emancipation Proclamation. This was more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect.
Texas was the last state of the Confederacy to free slaves. On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified and abolished chattel slavery in the U.S. and every territory under its control.
Freedom in Florida came one month earlier. On May 20, 1865, General Edward McCook first read the Emancipation Proclamation on the steps of the Knott House in Tallahassee. The pivotal moment led to more than 60,000 Black people in enslavement in the state securing freedom.
Indian River County commissioners recognized Juneteenth and Emancipation Day as local holidays last year. Juneteenth, also called Freedom Day, was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021 under President Joe Biden.