Some Juneteenth celebrations this year struggling to maintain sponsorships amid shifting political climate

For the past few years, Juneteenth celebrations on Long Island have been a crucial part of Black Legacy Partners’ work. 

In 2023, the nonprofit organization that aims to empower marginalized communities hosted a festival in Hicksville, attracting a large crowd for the federal holiday that celebrates the close of American slavery. Last year, it hosted a Juneteenth awards ceremony.

However, this year, amid a different national political climate, the organization will not be hosting any Juneteenth events. Corporate sponsors have either pulled their support or been unresponsive. In total, funding for the celebration dwindled from roughly $25,000 to just $5,000, according to Spencer Casseus, a co-founder of the organization.

Casseus, who lives in Uniondale, said the lack of support is "very hurtful."

"We celebrate other big holidays, you know, but it's just unfortunate that people don't hold Juneteenth to the highest level of importance as other major holidays," Casseus said.

Nationally, some Juneteenth celebrations are seeing their funding decrease as companies and other underwriters pull their sponsorship amid a backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

In the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd and ensuing protests calling for racial justice, several large corporations embraced DEI initiatives, including supporting cultural events like Juneteenth.

However, five years later, the political environment has shifted amid court battles and conservative activism that characterizes those policies as unfair. More recently, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at curtailing DEI initiatives in the federal government and the private sector.

In an executive order, Trump called DEI plans ordered by the Biden administration "immense public waste and shameful discrimination."

Several companies have since begun scaling back their commitments to both DEI and celebrations of Juneteenth, organizers say, forcing some of them to search for alternative ways to observe the holiday.

Marking the end of slavery

Juneteenth observes the delayed announcement of the end of the institution of slavery in the United States, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. On June 19, 1865, the Union Army entered Galveston Bay, Texas, and proclaimed that enslaved people in Texas were liberated.

The word came over two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved people in states that revolted during the Civil War, the museum said. It also came after the end of the war, in April 1865.

Last Saturday in Elmont about 250 people attended a Juneteenth celebration, which included local musical talent, trivia games for teens, food and a soul line dancing segment. Its founder said the event has survived despite the political climate.

"It’s a protest in itself," Tamar Paoli-Bailey, founder of the Elmont Juneteenth Celebration Festival and the director of culture and events for the Elmont Cultural Center, said of the festival. "For despite all of this that is going on in this nation, that we can dance, we can sing, we can celebrate, we can start our businesses."

The festival lost some sponsorships as a result of social justice organizations that typically give to the Juneteenth celebration losing funding. But the organization was able to quickly make up the loss by selling space to vendors and community members.

"It's always a struggle, and last-minute people come in, but we need a lot more sponsors to make this to the level that we would want it to be," she said.

A shift in priorities

Hank Boyd, a marketing professor and assistant dean for civic engagement at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, said the president’s policies were among the chief reasons companies are pulling back on their DEI initiatives.

"I just think that there's a tone that was set by the administration where they feel like, 'Oh my gosh, I don't want to be in the crosshairs of this administration. I've got to show that I'm in lockstep with what's going on,'" Boyd said.

He said the slowing economy may mean, at the same time, that companies are facing budget constraints and may scale down community outreach. But, Boyd said, companies should recognize that these initiatives appeal to diverse communities that help drive their bottom lines.

Smart companies, he said, are not pulling out of DEI initiatives; instead, they are adjusting, which can include working with minority-owned businesses, inclusive advertising, and subtle changes in wording.

"If you get painted with that brush ... you talked the talk, but you didn’t walk the walk, it will catch up with you," he said of the potential of alienating diverse communities by pulling back DEI support.

Despite the pullback, some Juneteenth celebrations on Long Island said they didn’t lose any funding for holiday events. 

The Long Island Children's Museum Juneteenth event is part of its monthly AdvoKids series, which encourages children to advocate for themselves and others.

Maureen Mangan, director of communications and marketing, said the museum will host a discussion on the importance of the holiday on Thursday and make a jubilee drum as a symbol of freedom and celebration.

Mangan said the museum hasn’t made any changes to its Juneteenth celebration amid anti-DEI sentiments and remains committed to making the museum a welcoming space.

"In an environment where people feel marginalized, it’s important that we make sure that kids are taught history and have the opportunity to talk to each other," she said.

The Village of Hempstead hopes that its backyard barbecue-themed celebration will go off without a hitch on Thursday.

Mayor Waylyn Hobbs said the Juneteenth Day of Freedom Celebration has been able to avoid sponsor cuts because most of the sponsors have been local, minority-owned businesses that have supported the event.

He said the anti-DEI backlash has made for a divisive national climate in which to hold such events.

"But the history of us as a people, we have survived even worse, and we’re resilient," he said. "We are a strong community."

An uphill battle

Funding cuts affected one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the region scheduled for Saturday. Thousands are expected to descend on Roy Wilkins Park in Queens for an event that will fuse civic engagement, entertainment and economic development. Embracing the family reunion theme, the Juneteenth in Queens festival will feature live performances, health screenings, yoga sessions, art parties and a variety of Black-owned vendors.

However, the Juneteenth celebration — which started in 2020 as a protest rally — had trouble getting going this year and faced an uphill battle. Several corporate sponsors have withdrawn their support, totaling about $50,000. Hosting the Juneteenth celebration costs more than $100,000, according to The Voice of Youth Changes Everything Inc. (V.O.Y.C.E.), the nonprofit that organizes the festival.

Tunisia Morrison, producer and curator of the festival, said the retreat in sponsorships sends a clear message that "Blackness is a trend" and such celebrations can be subject to the direction of political winds.

"I do think it sends a message that, you know, today it makes sense for us, but maybe it doesn't make sense for us again," she said.

With AP