The Journal News from White Plains, New York • Page 80

6K Friday, June 8, 2001 The Journal News Juneteenth www.thejournalnews.com www. Organizers work for national recognition ft- States where Juneteenth Is a holiday Texas Passed by state legislature in 1980 Florida Passed by state legislature in 1991 Oklahoma Passed by state legislature in 1994 Delaware Passed by state legislature in 2000 Idaho Passed by state legislature in 2001 Alaska Passed by state legislature in 2001 Ayesha Woodbum, a 17-year-old junior at Spring Valley High School, is this year's Miss Juneteenth. r' TJ7irrini -oorlivr'c miccmn is holiday awareness it must receive a presidential proclamation. National Juneteenth Observance Foundation is having its second Washington, D.C., observance this month. Myers said he would like President Bush to issue a proclamation then.

National recognition does not guarantee more people will celebrate Juneteenth or know its history. Supporters face challenges in building recognition for Juneteenth. Thompson said one obstacle is resistance to starting a national discussion about slavery. "I think that African-Americans are in denial, with us living much better than we did at that time," Thompson said. "And of course whites are in denial because of the atrocities that were committed because of slavery.

But if a very significant part of our history in terms of who we are as Americans today." Juneteenth will gain more acceptance if it's perceived as symbolizing freedom for all people, Thompson said. He said support from Latinos and whites is important "When it's perceived as an American event that needs to be acknowledged and considered, that's what does the big turnaround as far as the Juneteenth holiday is concerned," he said. Lula Briggs Galloway, president of Saginaw, National Association of Juneteenth Lineage, said an educational focus should come before a focus on Juneteenth as a national holiday. There are a lot of people not just black people, but people in general who are not aware of this celebration, and because of that reason it is very important for this organization to take a stance and make sure we as a group educate people on why we should celebrate June 19," Galloway said. The 19th of June is already our independence day.

We don't need permission to celebrate something that is already ours." Galloway's organization works with local Juneteenth organizations, as well as schools and churches, to help promote education about Juneteenth. The association publishes a newsletter and has helped to develop school curriculum about Juneteenth. Juneteenth organizers also have enlisted corporations and the Internet to help teach people about Juneteenth. Robinson launched www.june-teenth.com in 1997. The site lists Juneteenth celebrations throughout the country.

It also includes a description of Juneteenth's history and has a commercial section, where visitors can order Juneteenth pins and T-shirts. The site receives 1,500 to 2,000 hits a day, Robinson said. It acts as a way to promote Juneteenth, "whether if a national holiday, a state holiday or a city holiday." Holiday status sought for day celebrating slaves' freedom Abigail Hingbeil The Journal News Across the country, people with vastly different backgrounds and professions are taking part in a growing grass-roots effort to build awareness for the holiday Juneteenth. In rural Mississippi, Dr. Ronald V.

Myers Sr. takes care of ailing patients. Clifford Robinson, who lives in New Orleans, produces Web sites. Dino Allen, of Anchorage, Alaska, works for the Alaska Governor's Council On Disabilities and Special Education and promotes concerts. In addition to their full-time jobs, these three men and countless others also work to promote Juneteenth.

Juneteenth commemorates the day slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom June 19, 1865 nearly 2lh years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. For some people, the date has come to represent the end of slavery in the United States and the true independence day for blacks. In its infancy in the late 1800s, Juneteenth was largely contained to a black celebration in Texas. As blacks migrated from Texas, Juneteenth spread throughout the country. Since the mid-1990s, grass-roots organizers have intensified their efforts to bolster Juneteenth, but the day is still unknown by many Americans.

Some Juneteenth organizers want to see it recognized as a national holiday. Others just want more people both blacks and non-blacks to know about the day and to celebrate it in their communities. In addition to spreading the word on the neighborhood level, organizers have enlisted other marketing tools, including corporate sponsorships and Web sites. The way we approach Juneteenth is as an American independence celebration," said Myers, chairman of National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, which is pushing for Juneteenth to be recognized in all 50 states and as a national unpaid holiday, much like Flag Day. 'The Fourth of July is not an independence day for us.

We were slaves." On its Web site, www.njof.org, National Juneteenth Observance Foundation lists Juneteenth organizing contacts for every state. Some are part of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter or churches. Local organizers are one of the key ways for Juneteenth to gain momen- turn. Cities from Miami to Seattle have celebrations, with activities ranging from job fairs to cookouts, around June 19. In New York, Buffalo has had Juneteenth festivities for about 25 years.

Organizers in Rockland and Westchester counties have had com-munitywide events for several years. In 1980, Texas became the first of six states to enact Juneteenth legislation. The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation's Web site lists about 25 other states where legislators have introduced or plan to introduce Juneteenth bills. New York state Sen. John Sampson recently introduced a Juneteenth holiday resolution, which he expects to be adopted by the full Senate.

The story of how Alaska, with a black population of just 3.5 percent, adopted Juneteenth as a state holiday shows the often grass-roots nature of the efforts. Since 1993, Allen has had a Juneteenth festival on a former Anchorage airfield. While doing an Internet search about Juneteenth, he found out about an annual Juneteenth conference, held the past four years by Juneteenth America Inc. in Ontario, Calif. He attended the conference last summer and met Myers and Juneteenth America's founder, John Thompson.

There, they spoke about the vision that all the organizers should go back to their legislatures and make the case that Juneteenth should be made a national holiday," said Allen, who is now Alaska's Juneteenth coordinator, a part-time position. When Allen returned to Anchorage, he spoke to his state representative, who introduced the bill in the legislature earlier this year and the governor signed it into law in April. Alaska has designated the third Saturday of each June as Juneteenth. Allen would like to see Juneteenth recognized the same day on a national level. In 1997, the 105th Congress passed Senate and House resolutions recognizing Juneteenth Independence Day in America.

For the day to become official. 4 Vincent DiSalvioThe Journal News Ayesha Woodburn and a basketball game at Ramapo High School featuring Nash's nephew, former Chicago Bulls guard Norm Van Lier. Woodburn, 17, along with court members Nicole Clark and Cynthia Nicole Green, will visit area schools and organizations to teach local residents about the meaning of Juneteenth. Woodburn found out about the Miss Juneteenth contest through her guidance counselor at Spring Valley High School, where she is a junior. She was chosen from seven applicants.

While she has researched Juneteenth, she plans to learn more about it Woodburn said. "I think there should be a day when we should celebrate our holiday, when we became free," said Wood-burn, a member of the National Junior Honor Society and English Honor Society. The teen-age spokeswoman is one of the ways local Juneteenth promoters are building recognition of the holiday. The African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties Inc. has organized more than two weeks of events in honor of Juneteenth.

Education is an important aspect of Juneteenth celebrations, said chamber president Robin Douglas. "I think the more people study, the more people get a better perspective about why we celebrate it it will just grow," Douglas said. Festivities kick off with the crowning of Miss Juneteenth Abigail Klingbeil The Journal News Ann Nash refers to it as her "mission." She wants to educate the residents of Rockland County about Juneteenth. About 10 years ago, the retired Ny-ack Middle School teacher learned of the holiday that commemorates the day slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom June 19, 1865. Shortly after Nash learned about Juneteenth, she began having Juneteenth celebrations at her school In 1999, she organized the first community-wide event "We're trying to get people aware of what Juneteenth is all about," said Nash, a Pomona resident who heads the Rockland County Juneteenth Committee.

This is a very, very significant holiday for African-Americans. If just terribly unfortunate that many of us don't know about Juneteenth." In her ongoing effort to promote Juneteenth, Nash this year has organized a community-wide event that includes several firsts for the celebration. The festivities started May 26, with the crowning of the first Miss Juneteenth Hillcrest resident I i.