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For three decades Sandra Simms has celebrated Juneteenth in Hawaii with her family. The first event she remembers attending in the early 1990s was an informal potluck-style gathering at Neal S. Blaisdell Park in Aiea. Since then the locations and events may have changed, but one thing has remained: Community members came together to commemorate June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers told enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, of their freedom.
Growing up in Chicago, Simms, 72, said she didn’t learn much about slavery beyond the history books in school. It wasn’t until she entered college that she learned more about Black history. Attending Juneteenth events was a way for her and her children to better understand their culture and heritage. She plans to attend today’s Juneteenth events at Manoa Valley Theatre.
“I think it’s empowering,” said Simms, who served as the first Black judge in Hawaii since statehood. “It’s something that African Americans have been doing all along … because it’s important to understand the struggles of our ancestors.”
This week Juneteenth received formal recognition from the local and federal governments. On Wednesday, Gov. David Ige declared June 19 as a day of reflection in Hawaii. Although the bill did not make Juneteenth an official state holiday, it honors “the significant roles and contributions of African Americans in the history of the United States” and commemorates “the end of slavery in the United States.”
It was a culmination of many years of work by local leaders, including the NAACP Honolulu chapter and Hawaii for Juneteenth, led by Samantha Neyland, the first Black Miss Hawaii USA. Prior to the bill becoming law, Hawaii was one of only two states that didn’t recognize Juneteenth.
A day later President Joe Biden signed a bill into law recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the newest one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1983.
Simms and other local leaders are calling this formal recognition an important part of an ongoing fight for racial and social justice. Simms also said it’s important to remember that Juneteenth came two months after the Confederacy had surrendered. And the Emancipation Proclamation had freed enslaved people in the Southern states 2-1/2 years prior to that.
Locally, although African Americans make up about 3% of Hawaii’s population, they filed an average of nearly 30% of race-related employment discrimination complaints over the past 10 years, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported in 2018. The signing of these bills also come at a time when many are calling for police reform and racial and social equality in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. In Hawaii these conversations have heightened with the recent police shooting and killing of Lindani Myeni.
Akiemi Glenn, executive director and founder of The Popolo Project, a nonprofit that seeks to redefine what it means to be Black in Hawaii (in Hawaiian, “popolo” is sometimes used in reference to Black people), said the governments’ recognition increases visibility of Juneteenth. But she hopes that people don’t see it as the be-all and end-all.
“While Juneteenth is a day of celebration in the United States, it didn’t end oppression of Black people. It’s a milestone along a long path of freedom that we’re still fighting for,” Glenn said. “What I worry about is the idea that that’s it, that’s enough, we don’t have to continue to ask these questions.”
Ethan Caldwell, a University of Hawaii ethnic studies professor specializing in the Black diaspora in the Pacific and Oceania, echoed similar sentiments. When he discusses Juneteenth with his students, he said he implores them to think of its deeper meaning and impact. He said he’s spoken to some of them about this week’s events, and “there’s a similar kind of thought. A lot of them are stepping back to say, ‘What does this recognition mean and do to protect and preserve Black lives and Black communities?’”
“Often when we are thinking about these histories, they can be uncomfortable, but we need to confront them to understand the present and why those issues continue to exist,” said Caldwell, faculty adviser to UH’s Black Student Association. “The action part becomes crucial in terms of building community around Juneteenth but also using the organization to mobilize and push for racial and social justice. It’s one thing to revisit (history), but it’s another thing to take action.”
The Popolo Project is organizing a community gathering and protocol to honor ancestors at 9 a.m. today at the makai end of Kapiolani Regional Park near Kaimana Beach. Other Juneteenth events today include an open market at 2 p.m. featuring Black vendors and an African drum and dance show at 6 p.m., both at Manoa Valley Theatre.
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Jayna Omaye covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member for Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
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