Free at last
Juneteenth — a celebration of emancipation

ABOVE: Camille Dotson plays the drums during a Juneteenth celebration performance at the Saturday at the Gallup Performing Arts Center. BELOW: Brian Dotson sings a solo during the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday at the Gallup Performing Arts Center. [photos by Brian Leddy / Independent]

By Karen Francis
Staff writer

GALLUP —African Americans have made tremendous strides in the 145 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln, freeing slaves in certain states. Eventually slavery was banned by the U.S. Constitution and the campaign for civil rights brought about immense societal changes. This year Barack Obama, an African American, is the Democratic candidate for president of the United States.

On Saturday, community members got together to celebrate Freedom Day at the Gallup Performing Arts Center. The event, which included a parade entry at the Lion’s Club parade, music, storytelling, food and a jumper for the kids, was co-sponsored by GPAC and the Gallup chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

One of the main reasons for the Freedom Day festivities is to observe Juneteenth, which is June 19 — the day in 1865 that Texas first celebrated the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
That was not the only focus though. According to Dr. Roy Howard, artistic director at GPAC, Saturday’s Freedom Day celebrates three major events, including Juneteenth, the signing of the Treaty of 1868 which allowed the Navajos to return from Fort Sumner departing on June 18, 1868, and the return of Mexico to a self-governing independent nation marking the end of the five-year French intervention.

People of many cultures and backgrounds came out to celebrate — listening to and participating in African drumming and storytelling by Camile Dodson and her husband, Brian, of Albuquerque.

Camile, a native of Africa , had the audience clapping and swaying to the beat of the conga, bongo, and djembe drums. She also got the audience laughing with her stories and participating in a jam session with the various instruments she brought.

Asked what Juneteenth means to her, Cecelia Gonzales, who was enjoying the celebration on Saturday, said, “Freedom.” Her favorite part of the day was hearing her former instructor Dr. Ruth Gilbert read aloud the Emancipation Proclamation.

Mona Frazier, president of Gallup‘s NAACP, said that the event was part of Howard’s effort to promote multicultural activities at the Performing Arts Center.

“It’s important, because being African American, and my history, and African Americans’ history, is from slavery,” Frazier said.

Her favorite activity for the day was the African drummers and having the GPAC to host the event. She added that she would like to see the celebration expand each year and get more people aware of the African American culture.

“When I was growing up, we weren’t taught about different cultures. We were taught about the white man and what the white man had done, but the African Americans have contributed a lot to the United States ,” she said.

Betta Duncan said that the freedom of slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation eventually led to civil rights being recognized.

“It shows how important it was to stay focused and be strong,” she said.

Duncan added, “As that struggle happens, it becomes inclusive of all people who are oppressed, who have not been given their rights and the struggle still goes on. When I look back and I see what my great-great-grandparents had to fight for and hear their struggles, hear about the lynching and hear about the fighting and dying for their freedoms and knowing that we are trying to keep the focus going, we still need to do that as a united country.”

She said that she was often taught about Juneteenth because her father was from Texas and she would hear about her cousin’s father running from slave hunters.

Duncan’s favorite activity for Freedom Day was participating in the parade. She said that it made more people aware of Freedom Day and Juneteenth.