Arts and Culture

Celebrate 150th Anniversary of Juneteenth in Prayer, Drums And Song

Published

9 years ago

June 17, 2015

June 19 marks the 150^th anniversary of Juneteenth, the day when the enslaved people in Texas received news from Union soldiers that not only was the Civil War over, but that they had been freed two-and-a-half years before.

This news was greeted with joy and prayer. Omnira Institute will celebrate the end of slavery in the U.S. with prayer, drums and song on Saturday, June 20 at Lake Merritt at the Boathouse picnic area from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

“There is a lot to celebrate, but there’s also a lot to remember,” said Wanda Ravernell, the institute’s executive director.

For one thing, it has been lost to common memory that the Emancipation Proclamation not only declared freedom for the enslaved, but invited Black men, free and slave, to join the armed forces to fight for their freedom.

“It’s 150 years later, and it’s all but forgotten that the North was losing the war in 1863. The fighting had reached Pennsylvania, next was New York,” said Ravernell.

More than 200,000 Black men took up arms. There is no doubt that their presence turned the tide of the war. “One thing that is little known is that Black regiments were involved in the final rout of Robert E. Lee’s confederate army at Appomattox and present at the surrender on April 9, 1865,” Ravernell said.

According to the African American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C., “United States Colored Troops traveling along the Southside Railroad led the Union pursuit of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army. Headed west, Lee’s army was forced to turn south by Gen. Phil Sheridan. In the early morning of April 9, 1865, along Lynchburg Road, just south and west of Appomattox Court House, Lee’s army skirmished with the Union’s soldiers of African descent, with the 41^st USCT in the forward skirmish.”

“Lee soon discerned that his army could no longer continue to fight. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, and 13 USCT regiments were present to witness the surrender.”

The Black soldiers were praised for their bravery and skill in battle, one that they believed would be their last battle for freedom. “Then, Black lives mattered only in their worth as chattel. They were fighting for their dignity as human beings,” Ravernell said.

From Appomattox, the soldiers continued fighting in other areas of the South where there were more slaves to be liberated. But, armed Black men and Black men on horseback, given the authority to act as men threatened white supremacy.

“Returning soldiers could not rest in the pride of their victory without risking vilification and worse from whites in the North and South,” Ravernell said.

At the end of the war, when all of the troops were brought back to Wash., D.C., the Black soldiers were not allowed to march in the victory parade.

The African American Civil War Museum was a key player in rectifying that slight by holding a parade in Wash., D.C., where the descendants of USCT soldiers marched in the names of their forefathers on May 17, 2015, wearing period dress.

The event commemorated the May 23, 1865 Grand Review of the Armies, which was meant to lift the nation’s spirits after a protracted Civil War, but also the grief over Pres. Lincoln’s assassination just the month before.

Over the course of the two-day event, 150,000 Union troops marched through the capital, but none of the Black soldiers were included. It would be just one of many signals that the freedom they had fought for was not complete.

And like 1865, the 2015 Grand Review Parade took place as the nation was rocked again by pain and grief. This time it was massive protests in nearby Baltimore, MD, in response to the alleged unlawful arrest and injury while in police custody of a Black man, Freddie Gray, who died on April 21.

“At that time, and for decades afterward, Black peoples’ strategy was to prove that they were not docile children or animals that could not manage freedom,” Ravernell said.

“What better way to show they deserved freedom than to fight for it? They thought it would be their last fight. How disappointed they would be to see that the battle is not yet won.”

For more information, send an email to ravernell@aol.com.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Club Owner Geoffrey Pete Wins Oakland “Pillar” Indie Award

Don't Miss

National Barber Competition and Expo at Hilltop Courtyard Marriott

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Arts and Culture

Richmond Preps for Full Weekend of Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival. The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Scene from the 2023 Cinco de Mayo parade from Richmond to San Pablo. Photo courtesy The Richmond Standard.

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival.

The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

The parade’s Grand Marshall this year will be community organizer Diego Garcia, owner of Leftside Printing.

The festivities continue Sunday with the Cinco de Mayo Festival along 23rd Street, which last year drew over 100,000 people, according to the 23rd Street Merchants Association. This year’s festival will again run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the intersections of Rheem Avenue and Clinton Avenue. It will feature two entertainment stages, one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM at 23rd and Rheem, and another sponsored by Radio Lazer FM at 23rd and Clinton.

Both events are important for the city and the region’s Latino community.

San Pablo Mayor Genoveva Calloway, who co-chairs the parade alongside John Marquez, president of the Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees, says Saturday’s festivities are about bringing the Richmond and San Pablo communities together in unity.

“This truly connects the spectators and people in the parade as one,” Calloway said. “The parade showcases the real communities of Richmond and San Pablo – our nonprofits, schools, horse riders, classic cars and trucks, our local businesses. All of these people represent the heartbeat of our community.”

Rigo Mendoza, vice president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, said that at its heart, Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festival celebrates the date the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

But John Marquez started up the popular festival to bring the community together and also to exhibit the community’s businesses and culture to visitors, Mendoza said. The gathering was also a way to promote peace in the community.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Art

Mario Van Peebles’ ‘Outlaw Posse’ Screened at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Film director Mario Van Peebles, who also stars in “Outlaw Posse,” appeared at a press conference held at RBA Creative on MacArthur Boulevard hosted by the Oakland International Film Festival. Photo By Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago. Filmmaker Van Peebles shared his passion for independent artistry and producing projects with his son, Mandela, who also starred in the film, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Cedric the Entertainer. Next week, The Post will publish an in-depth interview featuring Peebles’ reflections on his work, future projects, and continuing his father’s legacy and Rhodes on her grandfather, a real-life cowboy.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Arts and Culture

Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Kedrick Armstrong is the new music director for the Oakland Symphony. Photo credit Scott Chernis.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.

Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.

Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.

Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.

Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”