Imani Altemus-Willliams was 20 years old when she learned about Juneteenth from her 103-year-old grandmother, who lives on the mainland.
Ten years later, for the first time, she celebrated the national observance of the end of slavery in the United States, joining hundreds of others who peacefully gathered Friday at sunset at Makalei Beach Park at the foot of Diamond Head. The diverse group of people, dressed in all white, lined up to place flowers at an altar in remembrance of their ancestors who were once enslaved or to show support for the Black community as the country struggles to reconcile its racist past.
Altemus-Williams, who was born and reared in Hawaii, recited a poem written by her grandmother called “Slavery’s DNA.”
“I don’t know if she ever felt free,” she said. “I don’t think that she has as a Black woman. I think the closest she’s felt to being free is when she writes poetry because she has such a strong connection with our ancestors.”
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii residents gather to celebrate Juneteenth
The local Juneteenth observance was hosted by the Popolo Project. “Popolo” is the Hawaiian word sometimes used in reference to Black people.
“What’s important for us is that this is a moment to honor our ancestors who were enslaved in America and to also acknowledge that we’re free and we’re in Hawaii,” said executive director and founder Akiemi Glenn. “Even though there wasn’t slavery in Hawaii, we’re here. So everywhere we go, our ancestors are with us. “
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay to announce that the more than 250,000 enslaved Blacks in Texas, the westernmost state in the Confederacy, were free — two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863.
Juneteenth has been a national observance for the Black community to celebrate its freedom, culture and achievements.
Hawaii is one of only three states that do not officially recognize Juneteenth, but that may be changing. On Thursday, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell ordered that Honolulu Hale be illuminated in yellow and black this weekend in recognition of Juneteenth and the Black Lives Matter movement. That same day, a City Council committee passed a resolution proclaiming June 19 as “Juneteenth” and “an annual day of honor and reflection going forward.”
“I always tell people that the history of Hawaii is different than other places,” Glenn said. “This was a sovereign kingdom. It didn’t have slavery. It actually has in its constitution not only a prohibition against slavery but actually welcoming formerly enslaved people. If anyone chased after them then they would have no rights to claim them as property.”
Waianae resident Mark Milligan, 43, said he celebrates Juneteenth with his family every year.
“It is important to be able to get together and share this experience, especially in a time like this,” he said. “There is so much physical distance and separation. It’s so important to have a space where the community can get together, not only to celebrate but to mourn.”
Some of those who gathered around the makeshift altar sang and shed tears. Glenn said wearing white represents resilience and the color of ancestral reverence in West Africa.
Along with flowers, photos of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd — all recently killed by police or other acts of violence — were placed on the altar. Some of those in attendance gently tossed flowers into the ocean.
“We’re gathering at the water … because we want to acknowledge the ancestors of ours that perished in the water in the trans-Atlantic crossing, even through we’re in the Pacific,” Glenn said. “These waters are still connected, but also these waters are a source of resilience in spiritual traditions.”
