Northern hosts 5th annual Juneteenth observance

Northern New Mexico College hosts 5th annual Juneteenth observance

Northern hosted it’s fifth annual Juneteenth observance on June 27. The ceremonies honored June 19, 1865, the day the U.S. troupes informed slaves in Galveston, Texas, that they were free – more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 

NNMC student veterans Douglas Olmstead and Cipriano Marquez presided over a flag raising ceremony that opened the event. 

Cultura Café catered a yummy luncheon of Texas-style pulled pork, potato salad, macaroni salad and cherry and peach cobbler, with everything made from scratch. Melissa and Molly De La Cruz started the smoker at 5 pm the night before and took shifts checking it until 4 in the morning, so the pulled pork was tender and infused with mesquite flavor. “We were trying to show off a little bit today,” Melissa said. 

Event organizer Willie Williams, State Director of the New Mexico chapter of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (the driving force behind the Juneteenth national holiday) greeted attendees saying, “I want you all to look around. This is what America looks like. This is America.”

New Mexico State Senator Harold Pope told the gathering, “Juneteenth is more than a historic celebration. It’s a reflection of how freedom has always been contested, how justice has often been delayed and how those in power have too often failed to uphold the promises of liberty and equality for all…Juneteenth teaches us that freedom must be fought for and that those in power don’t give it freely. It must be claimed, defended and expanded by those bold enough to believe in a better future.”

U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján sent a recorded message. “Juneteenth symbolizes hope and the journey we’re on to form a more perfect union. My great friend and mentor and colleague, the late John Lewis, was the walking embodiment of this vision. He believed in our ability to take history and make a more equitable society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”

On behalf of U.S. Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (who was one of the legislators who voted to make Juneteenth a national holiday), Field Representative AJ Pacheco said, “It’s beautiful to see us gathered in the spirit of freedom, in the spirit of resilience, in the spirit of joy that refuses to be extinguished…We celebrate Juneteenth not to remember freedom but to practice it, to live it out loud, to say in one voice that we will not go back.”
 
Jerome Williams, who has held Northern’s Drum Major Award for the last two years, passed on the award to Dr. Cedric Hamilton, which is passed from one community member to another in recognition of outstanding service. Williams said, “I knew when I accepted this, as I know now, that this award was never about one individual. It’s about all of us, the community. It’s about those who serve in silence, who labor in love and who believe that every small act of justice brings us closer to the dream. That moment was not mine alone. It belonged to our elders, to our young people, to our neighbors, and to every hand that has worked to lift up another…It is our joy to honor and pass this torch forward to someone whose work embodies that same spirit of justice and love, Dr. Hamilton. Your dedication to this community has not gone unnoticed. Your life story in educational achievements and passion, willingness to show up time and time again has inspired me. Accept this award as a reflection of your shared values of courage, compassion and unshakeable belief that change is not only possible but necessary.”