Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery, when Union troops in Texas on June 19, 1865, enforced the Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln had signed two years earlier. It became a federal holiday in 2021, though it’s been celebrated in Indianapolis for years.
Mirror Indy spoke with three Black community leaders from different generations, who shared how they celebrate and what Juneteenth means to them.
Jamaal Nelson, 26
Nelson, who goes by Brother Jamaal, is a historian and entrepreneur. This year, he celebrated by giving out free copies of his Knowledge of Self Black-tastic Edition board game and Malcolm X’s autobiography.
Sibeko Jywanza, 41
Jywanza is 16 Tech’s director of community relations. He went to the Juneteenth Black heritage concert at Indiana Landmarks on June 16, and will be in Ghana for Juneteenth.
Keesha Dixon, 70
Dixon is the former executive director of the Asante Children’s Theater. She’s a member of Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, which joined Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church for a Juneteenth celebration on the far eastside this past weekend.
Their responses to our questions have been edited for length and clarity.
[See photos from Indy’s Juneteenth parade and festival]
Q. When did you first learn about the history of Juneteenth?
Jamaal Nelson
I began reading Afro-centric, Black-focused books in 2018, and so it had to be 2019 when I first heard about it.
I saw it as something that was being celebrated a lot in Texas. I was in the military, and a buddy from Texas was telling me, “Hey, man, you know, I’m getting my guys together, and we’re celebrating Jubilee day.”
I said, “Bro, what is Jubilee day?”
He said, “It’s Juneteenth, bro. You’ve never heard of Juneteenth?” So he told me a little bit, and then I did research when I got back to my barracks.
Sibeko Jywanza
I don’t know if I can tell you the age, but I was probably about four or five. And it (the holiday’s meaning) really stuck with me because I would help put on the Juneteenth celebrations at the Children’s Museum in the ’90s with Percy Jackson.
Keesha Dixon
During my high school years, I would hear the term “Juneteenth,” but I did not grasp the gravity of the holiday.
I really didn’t understand it until my late 60s. This was after meeting attorney and civil rights activist Faye Williams, who helped shed light on what took place, why it took place and what it means. Every year, she talked about this when she came to Indianapolis. She tried to get attention on Juneteenth, and that was a long battle.
Q. How did you first celebrate Juneteenth?
Nelson
I was on like E3, E4 at the time in the military. So I took my few dollars that I had left, and I went to Goodwill, went to Barnes & Noble, and I was buying books. I probably had only about three or four books in my collection, so I bought as many books as I could. I was giving them out and saying, “Happy Juneteenth!”
Jywanza
The Juneteenth celebration at the Children’s Museum would be mostly how we celebrate, but also just understanding the importance of the holiday.
Dixon
Juneteenth the first time, it was in Chicago. Sometime in my 60s, I happened to be home visiting, and I caught a parade and celebration. But you know, we’ve always known about Juneteenth. It wasn’t celebrated like it is now all over the country.
Q. What does Juneteenth mean to you?
Nelson
It means a beacon of light for Black and African people on a global scale. It reminds us of the importance of not just celebrating Black history, but also incorporating what happened in the past to the present, so we don’t fall victim to the same things that took us away from our greatness.
When our people come together for Juneteenth, we shouldn’t just do it for one day. We should do it on a daily basis.
Jywanza
It’s a reminder of the past, the history of what those who are my descendants and those who look like me have been through. It’s a reminder that there was a time when our labor was valued, but our humanity was not, and that I will fight to make sure that it’s not something that the next generation has to deal with.
It’s also a time for us to come together as Americans. And, with that, comes repair for what needs to happen today. What repentance, what reparations need to happen? I think that those conversations need to happen as we’re doing the celebration.
Dixon
Historical truth, cultural pride an opportunity to teach and share stories with younger people so that they understand the landscape that they have to live in.
I saw an opportunity to get stories from older people. What do they remember? What do they understand? How should we come together and be the people that we’re supposed to be?
Q. What do you think of the growing number of celebrations happening in Indy?
Nelson
I’m ecstatic. Now I will be honest, I love the intent of a lot of the organizations, but they need to focus more on the educational side of things. Some people know Juneteenth — the name — but they don’t know the significance.
Jywanza
I love it. First, it acknowledges that our history in America —particularly for those who labeled themselves as Black or African American — is valid, right?
It’s like, “Yes, you do exist. Yes, there were things that happened that we’re not proud of, or that we did because we thought this was the way society needed to act. We treated you as less than human, and you are human.”
So with all the museums, and all the people acknowledging Juneteenth whose ancestors may have participated in slavery or may have been enslaved, it is good to see that.
Dixon
I think it’s a good thing, because that means the story is getting out. There’s a spotlight on the significance of Juneteenth being the celebration of liberation and freedom for Black people in this country, as opposed to our attention being turned to the Fourth of July.
Have a question about how things work in Indianapolis? Email Sophie Young, service journalism reporter, at sophie.young@mirrorindy.org.
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