Juneteenth Celebration Put on Hold Due to COVID-19
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – To say COVID-19 has been a wrecking ball in the state of Texas would be an understatement of epic proportions. Schools were shuttered, athletic events have been postponed or cancelled, businesses were closed and last but not least the virus has claimed the lives of over 2,000 Texans.
It seemed like the state was making progress, but in its haste to re-open, Texas has seen a significant uptick in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19. Now, it seems as if the virus has claimed another victim as the annual Juneteenth celebration in Houston County has been placed on hold.
According to the website www.juneteenth.com, “Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.”
Dr. Ianthia Fisher, mayor of the city of Crockett, and the coordinator of the Juneteenth pageantry spoke about the postponement earlier this week.
“Juneteenth was supposed to be a victory lap like we have every year. All of a sudden, we had the pandemic with COVID-19 and we were on hold for a minute. Time became a factor and we couldn’t do the (Miss Juneteenth) pageant and because we couldn’t do the pageant, we were waiting on information about the parade,” Dr. Fisher explained.
She said the state was more or less in limbo until after June 5 “… and the 30-day notice couldn’t get in by June 19. During this same time, they came up with the idea of doing a protest (held on June 10).”
“Juneteenth is about freedom,” the mayor continued, “national pride and looking at what we can do to improve ourselves. Even though we are not going to do the full celebration, we are going to do a Proclamation.”
Fisher said even though the traditional celebration won’t be held, she said the recent protest against racial injustice helped to balance things out.
“We talk about how much we have overcome but the amazing thing is when the incident with George Floyd happened, it brought the same attention to what the spirit of Juneteenth is all about. One of the things we do is start out with ‘Lift Every Voice’ and I think this has given us another avenue to reflect on where we were and where we are. I think the protest allowed us to give voice, once again, to the same issues we are celebrating through Juneteenth,” she said.
Fisher expressed her disappointment in not being able to have the celebration, but stressed she had a responsibility to keep the residents of her city as safe as possible while COVID-19 is still churning its way through Texas.
“The pandemic is not over,” she cautioned. “The numbers in the state of Texas have gone up pretty high in the rankings. They are saying it is also getting worse and there needs to be a level of responsibility. I will say that we picked up the spirit of Juneteenth through the protest. I was so excited by the way Crockett handled the demonstration. I do not condone the violence and the vandalism but I do think it is time we start to reshape the vision in the things we thought we had overcome.”
Despite the setback, Fisher said there will be some acknowledgement of Juneteenth and added this is a perfect platform.
“It’s good to have our victory lap and it is good to celebrate during Juneteenth, but there is a reality check that went forth with it. I’m looking forward to doing an event where we re-visit Juneteenth some time during the year. Keeping the spirit of Juneteenth alive with some type of celebration is important. We will have an event later on when it is safer,” she said.
As the discussion continued, Fisher said the celebration postponement had changed the way she viewed Juneteenth.
“We were so excited. Freedom from slavery, the civil rights movement has gone forward and we were all on the same agenda. Now, you see the very core of our democracy – the way we view it – it has been challenged. I will go forward with the Proclamation and I will continue to encourage everyone that this is a day of celebration,” she said.
“The cost of freedom is constant vigilance. Now, we just need to be more attuned to it. This is an opportunity – in addition to what we normally celebrate – to realize if you want to change things, you must focus on changing them leally through legislation. This is a great opportunity to encourage people to vote and to remind people about the Census and how much it affects so many different parts of our lives. The amazing thing about this – I never thought the United States or the world would ever come to a standstill or to even slow down – this has given us time to reflect,” she said.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
