Juneteenth is celebrated throughout Idaho's Black communities with joy, food, dance, and camaraderie.
Celebrations were planned in Boise, Twin Falls, Lapwai, and Rexburg, among other places in Idaho.
On Saturday, community members met in Julia Davis Park in downtown Boise for the fourth annual "Family Function" Juneteenth event, which featured live entertainment, local vendors, food, and dance.
Juneteenth Idaho and the Black Liberation Collective teamed with local groups and Black-owned businesses for a weekend of celebrations, including The Honey Pot CBD, 2C Yoga, Honey's Holistics, Cut-N-Up, and Amina's African Sambusas, among others.
Last year, the state and federal governments passed legislation declaring June 19 as an official holiday, often known as Juneteenth. Juneteenth has long been observed by Black communities across the country to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans at the end of the Civil War, despite the fact that it was only named a national holiday last year.
“On June 19, 1865 — over two years after President (Abraham) Lincoln declared all enslaved people free — Maj. General Gordon Granger and Union Army troops marched to Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and free the last enslaved Black Americans in Texas,” the federal proclamation declaring the date a federal holiday said.
This weekend, the city of Boise was not the only one in Idaho to celebrate Juneteenth. Holiday celebrations were held all around the state, including in Twin Falls and Lapwai. Students at Rexburg's Brigham Young University-Idaho will celebrate the date on Monday.
"Juneteenth is a time of great Black delight for folks all across the world." "It's really empowering to know that individuals who look like you and share a same ancestry are all here in Idaho, even if we don't see each other very frequently," said Prisca Hermene, a Boise resident who volunteered and performed at the Boise event.
Organizers made a point of encouraging attendees to stay hydrated, eat well, and be aware of COVID-19 considerations during the event.
Concerns after Patriot Front arrests in North Idaho
After a number of individuals from the white supremacist group Patriot Front appeared in Coeur d'Alene on the day of a Pride celebration, community organisers cited safety concerns for the Juneteenth event. After a 911 caller reported a number of guys cramming inside a U-Haul truck, the Patriot Front members were detained on June 11 for conspiracy to riot.
Nonprofit leaders in attendance at the Boise Juneteenth celebration shared their own reactions to the incident.
"It's frightening and upsetting. "You never think, 'Oh, that U-Haul truck is full of people who hate me because I'm Black,'" said Whitley Hawk, co-founder of Inclusive Idaho. "There are people who believe racism doesn't exist, but there are other people who are comfortable enough to endorse racism in a state where they don't live."
On Juneteenth, the leaders who ran booths shared a common sense of sadness, terror, and tragedy. Some, on the other hand, expressed gratitude to those who intervened to prevent a riot.
Shari Baber, president of the Boise Soul Food Festival, vice president of the Idaho Black Community Alliance, and board member of the mentorship organisation Brown Like Me, said she admires the person who called the cops to stop something that could have been fatal.
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