After a difficult year, the Office of Black Catholic Ministries hopes celebration becomes a touchpoint for local Black Catholic community

DETROIT –– An upcoming Juneteenth weekend celebration in the Archdiocese of Detroit will commemorate not only freedom from slavery, but also the freedom to gather and celebrate as a community after a year of being apart. 

Hosted by the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries, led by coordinator Vickie Figueroa, along with the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, the Friday evening, June 18, celebration will kick off with Mass celebrated by Fr. Tyrone Robinson at Corpus Christi Parish in Detroit, culminating in an outdoor party on Saturday, June 19, at St. Charles Lwanga Parish with live music, free food, games, hustle dance lessons and vendors selling goods from Black-owned businesses.

After a year of suffering in the Black community, including the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the physical and emotional toll of COVID-19, Figueroa said it was time to host a reunion in celebration of all that is good. 

“One of the priorities that Black Catholic Ministries has adopted is building community, and we feel that this celebration will help build community,” Figueroa said. “We are a beat-up people, so we feel that something just celebrating the goodness of being alive will help us out.”

Figueroa is expecting between 300 to 500 people to join in the festivities. 

The history and meaning of Juneteenth has long been celebrated by the Black community, but has become more prominent in recent years. Forty-seven out of 50 states acknowledge Juneteenth in one way or another, with New York and Pennsylvania recognizing it as an official paid holiday for state employees. On Tuesday, June 15, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

June 19, or Juneteenth, marks the date of the true end of slavery, Figueroa said. After President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Union soldiers traveled state by state to spread the news and make sure each slave state was freed, Figueroa explained. However, the news didn’t reach Texas until 1865.

“The government sent troops into Galveston, Texas, to free the slaves there because word had not gotten to them yet that they were free, so they were freed on June 19, 1865,” Figueroa said. “So, a lot of former slaves got together and started having what they call Juneteenth celebrations. They celebrated being free –– free from the bondage of slavery.”

The archdiocese’s celebration will include Juneteenth traditions including the sharing of red food to remember the bloodshed by ancestral slaves as well as the celebration of family and hospitality, said John Thorne, executive director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance. 

“We have an opportunity to remember that there was lots of blood that was shed that allowed us to be here today,” Thorne said. 

Thorne said the event will also celebrate Black excellence in businesses and the arts, as including the performance of several local bands. Thorne said representatives from Gesu School and Detroit Cristo Rey High School will be in attendance, as well as a booth sponsored by the Detroit City Health Department where resources about the COVID-19 vaccine will be available. 

Thorne said Juneteenth is an opportunity for the Black community to remember where it’s been while still looking ahead. 

“When we talk about freedom today, we’re sitting at a very interesting time in our society,” Thorne said. “I’ve been using the word ‘free-ish,’ because really, in my personal reflection, I think that’s where we’re at; with all the things that have been gained, there’s still so much more to do.”

Thorne said there still remains much work to be done to eradicate racism from society, both institutionally and personally.  

“When we talk about the gains in terms of employment and all these other things, we’re free, but we're not quite free,” Thorne said. “There’s still a lot to be gained, a lot to be desired, but we’re still working toward it every day.”

Figueroa hopes to see the archdiocesan Juneteenth celebration become an annual event. 

“I think it’s great for us to just get together and celebrate being children of God, and second of all, just being free from the bondage of yesteryear,” Figueroa said. “But we have to be careful that we honor those bondages from yesteryear, we remember them or we are doomed to repeat them.”

Juneteenth Celebration Weekend 

• Mass – Friday, June 18, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 19800 Pembroke Ave., Detroit. 
• Juneteenth Outdoor Celebration – Saturday, June 19, 2021, 2-6 p.m., St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church parking lot, 10400 Stoepel St., Detroit.