Early Juneteenth lets more students attend commemorative events

Published 05.01.2023

Photos by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor

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Penn College’s Black Student Union hosted the college’s second Juneteenth celebration April 20. Juneteenth commemorates the date (June 19, 1865) when members of the enslaved community in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed they had been freed (2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation declared that, beginning Jan. 1, 1863, “all persons held as slaves … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”).

While the federal holiday – also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day – is observed on June 19, the April event allowed the college to celebrate while most students are still on campus. As part of the celebration, BSU offered an educational display in the Bush Campus Center Lobby and active programming in the afternoon, featuring cultural and historical topics, as well as personal expressions that included poetry, music and dance.

Black Student Union President Ashlee E. Massey, of Williamsport, opens the celebration on the Bush Campus Center patio. Massey plans to graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in human services & restorative justice. In addition to her BSU role, she has also served as vice president of public relations for the Student Government Association.

Tamaka F. Carter, a financial aid assistant and 2020 business management graduate, honors a request to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Carter, of Williamsport, is also a student in business administration: management concentration.

A table offers positive messages for the taking, in the form of stickers. Giveaways also included buttons, slap bracelets and rock-painting kits.

Checking out wearable symbols of the celebration are Sarah R. Yoder, coordinator of admissions operations; Bryce W. Winder, coordinator of admissions events and communications, and Jen Cullin-Hetrick, associate director of admissions.

Inside the Bush Campus Center, a wealth of information is offered, including the meaning behind the Juneteenth flag: Its five-point star represents Texas, where Juneteenth originated, and its burst stands for new beginnings. The colors symbolize the American citizenship of the freed Texans. The colors of the red, black and green Black liberation flag represent struggle and sacrifice (red), people of African descent (black) and the natural wealth of the land of Africa (green).

Automotive technology student Theresa Love, of Williamsport, shares an original poem titled “Dear Black Man.”

BSU Vice President Chyanna L. Galagarza, a human services & restorative justice student from Williamsport, scoops water ice. While she didn’t make the water ice, Galagarza and her mother made the hot food on the complementary buffet: beef patties, rice and fried chicken.

Sarah D. Panzo, an advertising art student from Quakertown, explains the relationship between Juneteenth and fashion: Many freed individuals celebrated new control over their own attire by throwing away the rags they’d been provided. Panzo has developed her own clothing line, Human Error. “The meaning behind it is that our error as humans/people is that we’re always negative, and we need more positivity in the world, which is why I included a smiley face inside the skull of my logo to represent that we have a positive side to us: It just has to fully come out.”

Khamil George, a student in automotive technology management: automotive technology concentration, reads her poem “I Love Me Some Me.” George is from Harrisburg.

Gathering in the sun, attendees listen as Jashonda S. Scott, of Williamsport, reads a well-loved poem. Scott, of Williamsport, is studying human services & restorative justice.

While a DJ plays, Nate Woods Jr., special assistant to the president for inclusion and transformation, and Love break out the Kid ‘n Play ...

... which prompts a large-group line dance.

Current and former BSU members gather: from left, Chyanna L. Galagarza, a human services & restorative justice student from Williamsport; Shaqira S. Drummond, a 2022 business administration: marketing grad; Ashlee E. Massey, a human services & restorative justice student from Williamsport; and Chike Nwachukwu, a heating, ventilation & air conditioning technology student from Philadelphia.