Malden’s 8th Annual Juneteenth Celebration was one of a kind

Event highlighted Black history, culture, music, art, cuisine and freedom

By Steve Freker

Malden was one of the very first communities in Massachusetts to recognize and celebrate Juneteenth Freedom Day back in 2018. It began with an official flag raising outside the Malden Senior Center on Washington Street on June 19 that year, and locally it has evolved into a full slate of celebration. So it was last Thursday, June 19 when nearly 500 Malden and area residents filled the Sam Fishman Fieldhouse at the Salemwood K-8 School to partake of the festivities in an event highlighting Black history, culture, music, art, cuisine — and freedom.

Juneteenth — June 19 – commemorates the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. Many Americans have celebrated it annually for more than a century, even though the holiday was not officially added to the national calendar as a federal holiday until 2021. The now national holiday commemorates the ending of slavery by marking the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, after the end of the Civil War, on June 19, 1865, to let the last enslaved Americans know they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation – issued by President Lincoln more than two years earlier, on January 1, 1863.

The Juneteenth Celebration began with a flag raising at the Salemwood School followed by keynote remarks from Erga Pierrette, one of the founders of the Juneteenth Committee, which organizes the now annual event. Lydia “Lovely Singer” Harrell then sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem. Malden Mayor Gary Christenson then addressed the audience and officially proclaimed “Juneteenth Day in Malden,” praising and thanking the committee members and all others who contributed to the success of the event as well as those who took the time to attend.

“In Malden, we have for many years recognized and honored the significance of Juneteenth and we will continue to celebrate the impact this day has on all of our lives,” Mayor Christenson said.

The Malden Juneteenth Committee: Erga Pierrette, President; Melissa Castillo, Vice President; Rachel Sorlien, Treasurer; Marcia Manong, Director; Jessica Vasquez, Clerk; Karen Colón Hayes; Denise Vielehr; Muriel Williams; Souad Akib; Tyrone Henry, Tyrone Howe, Livn On Beats; Bridget Mutebi; Linda Cline; Reba Danastorg; and Susi Ecker.

“It has been a great turnout, maybe our biggest ever,” said Colón Hayes, one of the founding members of the Juneteenth Committee, who is also a Malden Councillor-at-Large. “It has truly become a ‘something for everyone’ and an all ages event. The Committee is very grateful for all of the hard work that has gone into the planning and preparation for this event.”

As Mayor Christenson affirmed Thursday, as he has done in past years, “Malden celebrates Juneteenth like no other community I know.”

In Malden, Thursday’s Juneteenth Celebration included a continuous, musical backdrop by “African Roots: Angels of Malawi”— a band whose members hail from the southeastern African nation of Malawi — and other performances, including a special one by Malden High School’s A-O Step Team, which has become a staple of the local event for the past several years now. Another standout performance that “wowed the crowd” was put on by “Lil Phunk” of Phunk Phenomenon, a hip-hop dance studio in Everett that regularly performs at halftime of the Boston Celtics games. Some of the highlighted performances: the opening Black National Anthem sung by Lydia Harrell, who later sang an original song. Other performers included Zili Musik and a drum circle, DJ Liv’n On Beats and others.

The day’s activities also included poetry, dances, drumming and over 25 tables for vendors and representatives of various cultural and community organizations. Henna art was available for free for attendees and also a hair braiding workshop station by DeeDee Cecoute. Attendees were also welcomed to contribute to some living art: Community Message boards displayed around the Fieldhouse, where they could express what Juneteenth meant to them. Other workshops included those led by Tyrell Dortch, on “Black Identity and the Black Teen Experience,” and Dr. Rachel Devereaux: “Double Dutch and the American-Born Black Culture.”

Another big highlight was a free, sumptuous, all-you-can-eat buffet with Southern comfort food and other dishes generously sponsored by the City of Malden. Providing the food: The Island (Caribbean Cuisine and Drinks), 118 Ferry St., Malden; the Neighborhood Kitchen, 84 Spring St., Medford; and Soulful Cuisine, 342 Pearl St., Malden. Many of the attendees took advantage of the seemingly endless dishes: fried chicken, beans and rice, jambalaya, collard greens, sweet potato pie, macaroni au gratin, tofu and romaine salad, among others.

Malden Juneteenth’s arts programming was funded by grants from Malden Cultural Council (a local agency that is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency) and from Eastern Bank Foundation. In addition to the City of Malden, the event was also sponsored by the NAACP Mystic Valley Branch.