personal preference art : Looking back, moving forward
Arnold Brown likens the African-American experience to the legend of Sankofa, the mythical bird that has its feet planted forward but its head turned backward.
"Just like the Sankofa bird who looks behind to see where she's come from before she can move on, you have to know where you came from before you can figure out and appreciate where you're going."
The Bergen County historian used the West African proverb to symbolize the importance of Juneteenth, a national commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the United States that New Jersey recognized as a state holiday in 2004.
On Saturday, under an overcast sky on the Great Lawn in Overpeck County Park, Bergen County hosted the first county-wide celebration of the holiday, which pays homage to African-American heritage and allows all cultures to reflect on slavery, an institution "so evil that some people today still can't come to grips with it," said Brown.
The idea for a Juneteenth celebration was first brought to the attention of County Executive Dennis McNerney by Mira Jones, minority outreach liaison for the county and organizer of the event.
"This is a nationally celebrated event, and I'm proud that we took the initiative to have the first county-wide commemoration," said Jones. "People should know their history and celebrate their culture."
McNerney agreed. "This celebration is significant because it allows us to reflect on the inhumanity thousands encountered on a daily basis during a period of struggle and oppression," he said.
At Overpeck Park, the five-hour festival featured carnival rides, food and art vendors, and a variety of bands, including the soul group Ray, Goodman & Brown, best known for their hit song "Love on a Two Way Street." Juneteenth celebrations were also held Saturday in Paterson and Newark.
On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed chattel slavery illegal. But the legislation did not impact the lives of many slaves because news of slavery's end was slow to spread across the nation. It wasn't until two years later, on June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, to announce and enforce the news that slaves were free. The holiday derives its name by the melding of the month and date these slaves learned the news.
Historians say the presence of slavery in New Jersey often gets overlooked in textbooks because it is a northern state. In fact, support for slavery was stronger here than in any other northern state, according to Brown.
"New Jersey was a northern state with a southern attitude," he said.
Bergen County in particular reaped the economic advantages of free labor. In 1790, the county had the largest number of slaves in the state – 2,301, according to Brown. New Jersey's slave population that year is estimated at 14,000.
Among the remaining portals into African-American history in Bergen County is Gethsemane Cemetery, the final resting place for about 500 buried between 1866 and 1924.
As part of the Juneteenth festival, Brown offered guided tours of the cemetery, located north of Route 46 in Little Ferry. Fewer than 50 gravestones remain at the historic site – many are gone because the cemetery fell into disrepair for years until the county ordered its restoration in 2003 – but interpretive panels list names of many who are buried there.
Brown touches on the life of Elizabeth Dulfur, a freed slave who became a wealthy entrepreneur after purchasing a farm along the Hackensack River. "She was quite a lady," he said.
There are members of the affluent Porter family, whose graves indicate they adhered to West African burial customs. Instead of traditional granite headstones, hollow clay drainage pipes were utilized by the family "as a way of communicating with the upper world," Brown said.
Back at Overpeck Park, David and Karen Langford of Teaneck were intrigued by a table of ethnic art presented by Deborah Dennis of Personal Preference Inc. in Englewood.
"I have family in Texas who've been talking about Juneteenth celebrations forever, so it's nice to be doing this in New Jersey," David said. "It's important to know your history and heritage and reconnect with it. We don't get to do that often enough."
By GIOVANNA FABIANO
"Just like the Sankofa bird who looks behind to see where she's come from before she can move on, you have to know where you came from before you can figure out and appreciate where you're going."
The Bergen County historian used the West African proverb to symbolize the importance of Juneteenth, a national commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the United States that New Jersey recognized as a state holiday in 2004.
On Saturday, under an overcast sky on the Great Lawn in Overpeck County Park, Bergen County hosted the first county-wide celebration of the holiday, which pays homage to African-American heritage and allows all cultures to reflect on slavery, an institution "so evil that some people today still can't come to grips with it," said Brown.
The idea for a Juneteenth celebration was first brought to the attention of County Executive Dennis McNerney by Mira Jones, minority outreach liaison for the county and organizer of the event.
"This is a nationally celebrated event, and I'm proud that we took the initiative to have the first county-wide commemoration," said Jones. "People should know their history and celebrate their culture."
McNerney agreed. "This celebration is significant because it allows us to reflect on the inhumanity thousands encountered on a daily basis during a period of struggle and oppression," he said.
At Overpeck Park, the five-hour festival featured carnival rides, food and art vendors, and a variety of bands, including the soul group Ray, Goodman & Brown, best known for their hit song "Love on a Two Way Street." Juneteenth celebrations were also held Saturday in Paterson and Newark.
On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed chattel slavery illegal. But the legislation did not impact the lives of many slaves because news of slavery's end was slow to spread across the nation. It wasn't until two years later, on June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, to announce and enforce the news that slaves were free. The holiday derives its name by the melding of the month and date these slaves learned the news.
Historians say the presence of slavery in New Jersey often gets overlooked in textbooks because it is a northern state. In fact, support for slavery was stronger here than in any other northern state, according to Brown.
"New Jersey was a northern state with a southern attitude," he said.
Bergen County in particular reaped the economic advantages of free labor. In 1790, the county had the largest number of slaves in the state – 2,301, according to Brown. New Jersey's slave population that year is estimated at 14,000.
Among the remaining portals into African-American history in Bergen County is Gethsemane Cemetery, the final resting place for about 500 buried between 1866 and 1924.
As part of the Juneteenth festival, Brown offered guided tours of the cemetery, located north of Route 46 in Little Ferry. Fewer than 50 gravestones remain at the historic site – many are gone because the cemetery fell into disrepair for years until the county ordered its restoration in 2003 – but interpretive panels list names of many who are buried there.
Brown touches on the life of Elizabeth Dulfur, a freed slave who became a wealthy entrepreneur after purchasing a farm along the Hackensack River. "She was quite a lady," he said.
There are members of the affluent Porter family, whose graves indicate they adhered to West African burial customs. Instead of traditional granite headstones, hollow clay drainage pipes were utilized by the family "as a way of communicating with the upper world," Brown said.
Back at Overpeck Park, David and Karen Langford of Teaneck were intrigued by a table of ethnic art presented by Deborah Dennis of Personal Preference Inc. in Englewood.
"I have family in Texas who've been talking about Juneteenth celebrations forever, so it's nice to be doing this in New Jersey," David said. "It's important to know your history and heritage and reconnect with it. We don't get to do that often enough."
By GIOVANNA FABIANO
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