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Cedar Rapids Juneteenth Festival celebrates African American history and culture
The Cedar Rapids festival organized by the African American Museum of Iowa drew in a crowd of all ages
CEDAR RAPIDS — Since Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday in June 2021, more discussion and discourse began surrounding the celebration — primarily with parties arguing the holiday took away from Independence Day.
The director of the African American Museum of Iowa, LaNisha Cassell, said any “divisiveness” surrounding Juneteenth is simply not necessary. The June 19 holiday, according to Cassell, is “just another celebration of freedom.”
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
In this commemoration honoring the emancipation of slavery in the United States, the African American Museum of Iowa hosted the Juneteenth Festival. The event held at NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids brought Iowans from across the state to celebrate and acknowledge the rich history and culture of African Americans.
Political support
Near the beginning of the scheduled programming, Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly issued proclamations cementing Juneteenth as an official holiday in their respective cities.
O’Donnell said the event wouldn’t have happened without the community of Cedar Rapids driving attitudes, change and representation. She said the motive behind releasing the proclamation is to cement celebration and the newly official holiday into history.
“As mayor, I couldn't be more proud to be the mayor of a city that recognizes the importance of everybody being seen and celebrated like we're doing today,” O’Donnell said.
AbouAssaly also spoke on the importance of community and formalizing the festival with the city proclamation, describing it as a “major milestone.” Before reading the official language of the document, he took a moment to thank the volunteers who helped make the Juneteenth Festival happen.
Cassell said political figures speaking and supporting the festival is significant. While there has been support all over the state, Cassell said some people tend to listen to the words of elected officials more closely.
“It's great when Mayor Tiffany or Mayor Nick can come out and speak on behalf of what a great resource the African American Museum is to the community,” Cassell said. “I think it goes a long way to bringing in people who may not be familiar.”
Connecting people and resources
Cassell, who played a crucial role in the organization and facilitation of the event, said the festival both celebrated Juneteenth and called attention to the various resources in the state of Iowa.
The event allowed a space for allies to come in solidarity, as well as for people of color in the Cedar Rapids area — and across Iowa — to celebrate, Cassell said.
“We wanted to be able to bring people together, particularly having a space for the people of color in our community,” Cassell said.
Outside of the scheduled programming, a variety of nonprofit resource tents flooded the NewBo City Market space. While attendees filtered in and out of the festival stage, the resource tents stayed packed throughout almost the entire festival.
The Cedar Rapids Public Library was present, helping individuals sign up for library cards and allowing people to check out books.
Other organizations, including the African American Resiliency Association and the Marion Alliance for Racial Equity, offered informational packets about their organizations and provided examples of when their resources may be needed.
Expanding reach
Throughout the week, the African American Museum of Iowa has hosted events with a broad range of demographics, including a children’s book reading at the Cedar Rapids Public Library and a performance from the Des Moines Metro Opera titled “dwb (driving while black).”
Cassell said this was intentional, as the goals of the African American Museum of Iowa are to serve a wide range of people.
“Our mission and vision is statewide, and we always are trying to attract multiple audiences,” Cassell said.
The programming also provided multiple performers. The festival kicked off with Zumba instruction led by Doris Agyemang. Agyemang said for Juneteenth, she switched out the traditional Latin music for Afrobeats.
During Agyemang’s instruction, around a dozen people gathered around the stage to follow along, despite the hot sun and 80-degree temperatures.
A later performer was Lydia Newsome, who recently graduated from high school and plans to attend the University of Iowa in the fall. Newsome read the poem “Dark Symphony” by Melvin B. Tolson, which discusses the successes of African Americans despite systemic setbacks.
Newsome said she was drawn to this poem not only because of the messaging, but because she wanted to highlight a lesser-known Black author. She said when people think of Black poets, the only name that tends to come to mind is Maya Angelou. Newsome wanted to share another poet she was fond of to show those in attendance that there is great, undiscovered talent that deserves more attention.
As a whole, Newsome said the festival was an opportunity to bring people together, both for community and education.
“A lot of people still really take this holiday for granted,” Newsome said. “I think coming together as a community and actually celebrating what that day really means and how that was really our day of overcoming — all the work, and the tears, and the blood that was shed — finally paid off.”
Comments: jami.martin-trainor@thegazette.com
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