The Philadelphia Coalition of Leaders remembered the legacy of enslaved Black men, women and children with an “Honoring the Ancestors” ceremony that opened its third annual Juneteenth Musicfest and Parade last weekend.
The ceremony, which featured musical and theatrical performances, focused on history and freedom. It also included a wreath-laying ceremony for President George Washington’s nine slaves who were once housed at the President’s House, now an open-air museum a few feet from the Liberty Bell Center in the city’s historic area.
“It shows that we have come from slave ships to leadership and we affect everything that happens in this country and pretty much in the world,” said PCOL chairman Kenny Gamble. “We just have to take our rightful place as a people. That’s only going to come through education.”
During his brief remarks at the ceremony, Gamble acknowledged the miracle of Black people still existing in America: “Here we are today, we survived. And thank God almighty we survived, the children of the slaves.”
Attorney and activist Michael Coard, one of the keynote speakers, discussed the history in depth, observing the irony of the site of American independence also existing as one of oppression.
“The President’s House, for those who don’t know, is America’s first White House,” said Coard. “It was known as the executive mansion, it was known as the Robert Morris mansion and it was right behind where you are sitting right now. And the first constitutional President of the United States, George Washington, legally enslaved 316 Black men, Black women and Black children at his Mount Vernon, Va., plantation and then illegally enslaved nine of them right here at this site.”
“Your great-grandmother’s great-grandmother might have been one of those nine. Your great-grandfather’s great-grandfather might have been one of those nine. When you look at the Liberty Bell Center… people look at that as if it’s some type of heavenly object. A mere five feet from the main entrance to the Liberty Bell Center was the slave quarters,” he added.
“George Washington had an outhouse, basically the size of a large dog house, that he called the slave quarters and held some of those nine. So as you enter this heaven of liberty, you literally have to cross the hell of slavery,” Coard said.
Opal Lee, 91, recognized as the “Mother of Juneteenth” as the activist working to make Juneteenth a national holiday, traveled from Texas to speak at the ceremony. She pushed for the community to raise awareness and educate others about the holiday.
“I can’t say it loud enough, long enough and often enough that we’ve got generations that absolutely don’t have the slightest idea what we’re taking about when we say Juneteenth,” said Lee.
“So, it’s our responsibility, your responsibility, to educate them. I refuse to let it die. There’s too much at stake. If we are not careful, the climate now is such that we can be enslaved again. I’m not to talking about any shackles on your feet and your hand. I’m talking about your mind,” she added.
Source: http://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/juneteenth-fest-cites-historic-irony-in-honoring-ancestors/article_0e1c637a-a292-5f04-91ec-403c2c373244.html
