All-Community March in Downtown East Lansing Celebrates Juneteenth
As the morning sun shined down on the community of East Lansing, people – young and old – gathered at the Hannah Community Center on June 18 to celebrate Juneteenth by marching through the city and celebrating freedom.
Juneteenth, a holiday celebrated Monday (June 19), recognizes the day the last enslaved African American people in the United States received news they were free. On June 19, 1865, the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, learned from Union General Gordon Granger that, two years earlier, the Union had won the Civil War and President Lincoln had signed the emancipation proclamation freeing them.
Over 150 years later, people across the country continue to celebrate what is often referred to as America’s second Independence Day. June 19 was officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021. This was East Lansing’s first all-community march and celebration, and was one of many in the state and country held over the weekend in honor of Juneteenth.
A small but spirited group of community members gathered at the Hannah Center on the warm Sunday morning to commemorate the freeing of our country’s last slaves.
As people congregated waiting for the march to begin, they mingled with neighbors, petted dogs and took time to register to vote.
Before the march’s 11 a.m. start time, East Lansing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director Elaine Hardy spoke to the crowd, welcoming them and thanking everyone for being there.
Hardy also commemorated that the first Juneteenth march held in East Lansing was during the summer of 2020 by the Pinecrest neighborhood. In fact, East Lansing’s Juneteenth celebrations began with the Pinecrest Neighborhood Association in 2018, according to the Juneteenth Holiday Resolution passed by East Lansing City Council on June 6.
“I just wanted to make sure that we remember that the start of this march really came from our friends and our neighbors,” Hardy said.
Hardy encouraged people to come together as a community and celebrate.
“Today, we’re gonna celebrate freedom and walk together and sing together and join together as a community,” Hardy said.
The march was led by Kefenste Chike, professor of African-American Studies at Wayne State University, and his drum.
Children, parents pushing strollers, students and dogs followed Chike clapping along and singing.
“The people united, will never be divided,” chanted the crowd, as they made their way south down Abbot Road.
With a turn on Oakhill Avenue, participants marched to Evergreen Avenue and then headed toward Valley Court Park and the East Lansing Farmer’s Market. Along the way they sang, “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around. Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, I’m gonna keep on a-walkin’, keep on a-talkin’, marchin’ down to freedom land.”
The march ended with people at the market joining with marchers in clapping and singing.
Lining the path along the Farmer’s Market were signs explaining the history of Juneteenth and presenting quotes from the book Anti-Racism: Powerful Voices, Inspiring Ideas (Words of Change) by Kenray Rankin.
Following the march, which lasted about half-an-hour, participants were able to attend the Farmer’s Market, where they could purchase drinks and snacks, listen to live music by Christopher Minami or receive a free book from the WKAR radio booth.