Newark— Essex County College kicked off its inaugural Juneteenth event on Thursday, June 15,  the start of three days of educational and cultural activities, all located on the campus in the heart of downtown Newark.

To kick off the events, Dr. Akil Khalfani, director of the college’s Africana Institute, moderated a panel discussion on the historical significance of Juneteenth and its importance to the ongoing contemporary struggle for economic and racial justice. Panelists included Dr. Angela R. Garretson of the New Jersey Institute for Technology and Lawrence Hamm, the chairman of the People's Organization for Progress. 

Before opening the panel, Khalfani offered libations to the ancestors with permission granted by the elder in the room, Lawrence Hamm.

"We think about the beginning of time that African people have been here, on this land and elsewhere around the world for thousands and thousands of years,” Khalfani said, “So for those that came in the past and those in the present, we say, Ase." 

Following the libations, Dr. Augustine Boakye, president of the college, spoke on the significance of the college in hosting such an event. He pledged that the institution was committed to making this annual program. 

“This should have been in place for many years, but unfortunately, it didn't happen until this year," Boakye said.

Khalfani led the panelists in a rigorous and informative discussion centered on the political history of Africans' enslavement and their role in the fight for their freedom from enslavement. Garretson and Hamm used their introductions to ground their personal and political narratives in experiences steeped in social justice action and unwavering commitments to the ongoing fight for freedom, justice, and equality.

Garretson underscored the central point of New Jersey being the last northern state to end the enslavement of Africans. Hamm venerated the over 220,000 Black men who enrolled and fought in the Civil War. When asked to share Juneteenth's political and cultural importance in their lives, Garretson traced her political and educational trajectory, and Hamm gave a history lesson on some critical markers of the Civil War. 

“I think some historians are saying now that as many as a million people were killed during the Civil War,” Hamm said, “This is what it took to end slavery, and the irony is that we are here today for commemoration of an important event that happened during the Civil War. But it took one hundred and fifty years and more for this country to recognize the abolition of slavery when other countries have had those holidays for decades, even going back to the nineteenth century itself."

After the hour-long panel discussion, the audience and panelists retreated to the Africana Institute to tour a current art exhibit as part of the three-day Juneteenth commemoration. The Institute has an array of paintings, masks, and statues in its permanent collection, which are in the front rooms, but there are more works for viewing upon request. 

For Juneteenth, the displays include works by artists from Angola to the United States and a moving and riveting installation by Khalfani. The piece attempts to replicate an African lying in a slave ship in shackles, surrounded by representations of blood from violence and broken wood from the belly of the vessel. Around the body are stones, tobacco, and gold dust, representing the continent's richness that came across with Africans captured and enslaved in the European Slave Trade, if only in their memories. Africa’s rich minerals and raw materials remain a cornerstone of the global marketplace today.

Essex County College’s three-day Juneteenth commemoration will end on Saturday, June 17, with the 8th Annual Pan-African Drumfest from 11:00 am-4:00 pm on the ECC-Newark campus. There will be dance and song performances, with featured drummers from far and wide. The ECC Haitian Students will take center stage and give a curated dance performance, and attendees can browse a variety of vendors. Refreshments will be available for sale. 

Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday in 2021, to be marked on the given day, June 19. In New Jersey, the state commemorates the day every third Friday in June, which this year falls on June 16.