In 2018, a Juneteenth celebration along Fourth Street in downtown Columbus drew an estimated 100 people over the span of an afternoon. The following year, when heavy rain hit throughout the day and planned partnerships for the event faltered, it may have drawn even fewer, according to organizers.
"I definitely was disappointed," said Olisa Humes, then-president and current vice-president of the Columbus/Bartholomew County Area chapter of the NAACP.
Black leaders such as Humes and others hope that a new alignment with a partial Ethnic Expo atmosphere Saturday via the Columbus Area Visitors Center will bring crowds to the event from 2 to 9 p.m. Entertainment, food and educational elements will help celebrate the 150th anniversary of Texas releasing its slaves and the official end of slavery in the United States.
The gathering teamed with Expo is one of four Ethnic Expo Event Series gatherings planned through fall to celebrate culture and diversity with safer crowds than the throngs normally bunched together especially on Expo’s opening night. A 2020 Juneteenth event was limited to a brief rally protesting the deaths of defenseless Blacks killed by police and others.
This year, Humes likes the idea of the city’s involvement, and believes it will help the cause.
"I always try to be optimistic," Humes said. "I always try to focus on the positive."
The positive is that the local NAACP has a stronger and more diverse membership than it did during those two past events — and more people willing to be supportive, according to Humes.
That’s important since the local Black community, constituting 2.4 percent of the county population according to U.S. Census Bureau figures, has long mentioned that they feel few know the meaning, or even existence, of Juneteenth. Some Black residents themselves have confessed they never heard of it until they moved to Bartholomew County, where former long-time local NAACP president Gwen Wiggins helped organize the first local celebration in 2002.
"It’s important to remind people that this isn’t about just Blacks," said Wiggins, speaking by phone from Indianapolis, where she now lives. "It’s about everybody."
For years, that theme was a Wiggins refrain on everything from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Kwanzaa. She also regularly touted the NAACP as an organization for all races — a fact that Humes and current president Johnnie Edwards have reiterated while successfully boosting dwindling membership in an attempt to restore it to levels of perhaps 15 years ago.
Wiggins also regularly reminded local residents after President Barack Obama was elected that a range of Black issues still needed to be addressed locally and nationally.
"Anytime you plan an event, you ideally want people to come in droves," Humes said. "Our main focus with those previous was to educate people about Juneteenth. And we feel that if we accomplish that, then we all can be maybe one step closer to being friends — or that we all at least can be more accepting of other people."
On Saturday, about 20 vendors will be on hand for everything from what organizers call soul food to health information. Beer tents will be located on opposite ends of Fourth Street. Plus, there will be music, spoken word performances and more.
Retired public school teacher Paulette Roberts, who as a volunteer still leads the tutor-style Columbus Enrichment Program she launched, will be among those manning a booth. She believes that plenty of students in the Black community still need to be educated about Juneteenth.
"I don’t believe that their knowledge is as solid as we would like it to be," Roberts said.
Like Humes, Roberts is optimistic that this new format for Juneteenth will reach more people overall.
"I certainly hope so," she said. "You never know until you try."
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What: The Juneteenth/Ethnic Expo celebration, including food, drinks, children’s games, music and more
When: 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Along the one-block segments of Fourth Street intersecting with Washington Street in downtown Columbus
Admission: Free
Information: Facebook page for NAACP Columbus/Bartholomew
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