In Valley Stream, Juneteenth invites fun, but also reflection on the meaning of the holiday

In the midst of family-friendly activities at Valley Stream State Park’s Juneteenth Jubilee on Friday, a greater message prevailed: the importance of raising awareness of the federal holiday and empowering young people.

More than 100 community members, local elected officials and vendors gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery and marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom.

Valley Stream’s jubilee featured lawn games, cultural entertainment, food, informational booths and a Long Island Nets basketball clinic. The celebration was just one of many events being held Friday as Americans across the country gathered to celebrate the holiday. In Galveston, people assembled for multiple events, including a parade and music festival. Atlanta and New York, among other cities, will hold Juneteenth parades this weekend.

Doris Hicks-Newkirk, 75, of Lakeview, said the importance of celebrations like the Juneteenth Jubilee lies in education and awareness.

“The United States has been a history of unfairness, and we certainly need to make sure that our young people know that they have rights, that our rights are to education, voting, free speech,” said Hicks-Newkirk, the president of Lakeview’s NAACP chapter. “There are so many things we need to instill in our children.”

Hicks-Newkirk emphasized the importance of togetherness, which she said the jubilee promoted. She said continuing to show love and cultivating enjoyment of one another “will just solidify who we are as people.”

Kerry Williams, 66, of Elmont, said she’s glad the state park event was held because some of her family members didn’t know Juneteenth was a holiday.

Williams, whose parents came from the South, said it’s important to celebrate Juneteenth because it serves as a reminder about how hard Southern Blacks worked to make sure people of color in the United States can enjoy the freedoms and increased opportunities they have today.

“This is really a holiday for the Southerners, the ones who really built this United States and made it possible for other ethnic groups, especially the ones of color, to come here and enjoy these United States, even though we hear comments from other colored groups" that, Williams said, reflect an incomplete understanding of that legacy.

Therese Myers, 55, of Valley Stream, said Juneteenth’s legacy is a through line to current societal issues and underlines the notion that voices matter and choices exist. Myers, the founder of Yes Girls Create, a nonprofit that empowers girls through mentorship, said her organization gives younger people voices and, by extension, the power to choose.

“I think it’s really important for every person to understand that they do have a right to freedom, they have a right to free water, housing, they have a right to a choice, and I think it’s so important that not just on Juneteenth that we celebrate that,” Myers said.

Yes Girls Create member Zoe Grant, 11, of Valley Stream, said she planned to help kids at the event find their creative side at the organization’s table by decorating bags. The amount of people who attended, Zoe said, is reflective in terms of spreading awareness about Juneteenth.

“Freedom is an important thing, and something that we often take for granted, so we gotta celebrate it,” Zoe said.