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Juneteenth is the newest federal holiday, established on June 17, 2021, and it commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in 1863. Juneteenth was first celebrated on June 19, 1865 as the day two years after emancipation, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX to take control of the state and make sure all slaves were emancipated.
Concert and Festivities
June 17, 2023
Granby Memorial Middle School
321 Salmon Brook Street
Granby, Connecticut
3:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Why We Celebrate Juneteenth
PROGRAM
10:00 am - 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
2:45 pm - Leonard Epps African Drumming
3:00 pm - Welcome - DJ DPHR
3:15 pm - Sazzy Brass
4:15 pm - Vendors & Double Dutch Exhibition
4:30 pm - GHAA Jazz Band & Choir
5:15 pm - Building Relationships
5:30 pm - Liberty Christian Center Praise Team
5:45 pm - Deacon Art Miller
6:00 pm - The SKJ Experiment
7:15 pm - Jocelyn Pleasant & Medusa
7:30 pm - The Alvin Carter Project featuring
Kenny Hamber and Friends
Committee
Helen Frye
Monica Logan
Carrie McCrorey
Daryel McCrorey
Sarah Merrill
Ken Mouning
Sally Rider
Rosemarie Roy
Perkin Simpson
Cathy Watso
Featured artists & speakers
Logo contest
Emma Hansen, GMHS '22 winner
“I chose yellow, green and red—to symbolize the Ethiopian flag, which represents the Pan African ideology. I placed the Black female in front to show her pride of her culture.”
Taylor Matheos, GMHS '23 runner-up
“I wanted to incorporate images that symbolize Black liberation and empowerment, such as the iconic raised fists, which are breaking apart the chains to commemorate the end of slavery.”
Live Painting from Silent auction
Harmonic Hills of Hope
by David C. Jackson
“Harmonic Hills of Hope” | Acrylic on Canvas | 24x30”
I decided to title this piece “Harmonic Hills of Hope” as it was inspired by the 2nd Annual Granby Celebrates Juneteenth event.
This year I zoomed outside of one flower to create a field of them. I included the tobacco flower which represents the industry in which many people of color worked the fields for. They are mixed in with African violets which symbolize devotion, commitment, and faithfulness. The combination shows the strain of our past and the need to commit to bettering our future. In essence, we remember the pain, recognize it, and then aim for our best in an honest way.
The flowers are clustered until they disperse closer to eclipse. This demonstrates freedom. The two sets of prayer hands are rooted in this spirit. The open palms are depicted as Islamic prayer position whereas the palm-to-palm hands are positioned for usual Christian prayer. Regardless of specified belief, the very presence of faith means hope and betterment.
The sky is intertwined with the ground to create a feeling of oneness. They are folded into each other to create rich layers of beauty taking into consideration our turning tides as humans. There are approximately 50 stars illuminating, leading us to the rare eclipse. The cosmic convergence is surrounded by a heart shaped light that drifts into the night. The thought is to make this unity a more recognizable occurrence. Various beliefs can be aligned to seize what’s most important ~ our faith within each other as beautiful beings sharing this same planet.
