Lynnd Nkodia sells Afro Box clothing items during the Juneteenth celebration in Columbus on Saturday.
The mantra of the annual Juneteenth celebration echoed loudly from the corner of Fourth and Franklin streets in downtown Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
“Freeeee-dom,” crooned a cappella vocalist Yoruba Kikiloma-Mason, drawing out the word for special emphasis. “Freedommmmmm.”
The Louisville, Kentucky-based singer helped kick off the festivities organized by the Columbus/Bartholomew County Area Branch of the NAACP. She also helped tell the story of the special day marking the official end of slavery in the United States as she took on the acting role of a mid-1800s slave.
She even mentioned some of the food traditionally associated with the day, including everything from barbecue to red velvet cake.
“Those are just to name a few,” she said.
She and the African American Community Choir drew about 120 people encircling the NAACP’s booth at the event that eventually attracted over an eight-hour period an estimated 500 people, about the same as last year, according to organizers.
Juneteenth, also known to some as Liberation Day, marks the day when Texas freed the last American slaves — two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865. The name comes from a merging of the month and the actual historical date into one word.
Saturday’s gathering was billed as “Juneteenth Jubilee: A Celebration of Education.” That educational angle included retired teacher — and among the first Black local educators — Paulette Roberts of the Columbus Enrichment Program distributing plenty of Juneteenth books and booklets for free to younger students and their families at the event.
Roberts laughed when someone asked where she got the budget for such a collection of material.
“Out of my own pocket,” she said.
Through the years, Roberts has been among the most vocal residents advocating for such education.
“Black history is American history,” she is fond of saying.
The event’s food vendors included Lemonade Bros, whose offerings included strawberry lemonade, often associated with Juneteenth.
“I feel it’s so very important for us to support the local Black community,” said Corneshia Freeman.
The day included a segment on red foods, partly symbolic of bloodshed during the lengthy period of slavery. That memory was so emotional for Quisha Jackson that she broke into tears.
Some attendees such as Kate Howell and her children stumbled onto the overall event after leaving the nearby Bartholomew County Public Library. Howell said she likes the idea of living in a community that recognizes such significant historical days.
Juneteenth organizers have long said that the day should be as significant for non-Black residents as it is for Black residents. And Howell, who is white and was well aware of the day’s background, agreed.
“Just because it’s not my personal heritage doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t care a lot about it,” she said.
