Pensacola State College | PSC hosts 4th annual Juneteenth celebration

Pensacola State College observed Juneteenth a few days early on June 16.

However, the fourth annual event attracted a large crowd to celebrate the holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

PSC Professor Tonie Anderson-Steele, event organizer and Milton campus counselor, was bittersweet about the celebration.

“The celebration attracted PSC employees as well as many of our neighbors and friends from the community,” said Anderson-Steele, who plans to retire this year after a 33-year career at the College.

“As always, our guests genuinely enjoyed the history, the entertainment, the food, the vendors, and each other. It was an amazing event and a wonderful way to end my time at the College.”

Juneteenth, a combination of June and 19th, is called Emancipation Day. It marks the day in 1865 after the Confederate states surrendered to end the Civil War when a Union general arrived in Texas to inform a group of enslaved Black Americans of their freedom under President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Texas has recognized the holiday since 1980. In 2021, Juneteenth was designated a federal holiday.

The Juneteenth festival included performances by African drummers – Polimbatree and vocalist Brianna Harris, who sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “I Walk Jesus to Walk with Me.”

Youths from James B. Washington Education and Sports also performed a humorous skit about the origin of “spiders’ behavior.” Patience Menakaya, African apparel retailer, also staged a fashion show with ethnical wedding garb and other ceremonial attire.

Spoken word artist Ericka Streeter-Hodge also shared a poem, and Soulful Movement dance company performed several spiritual dances, including solos “Strange Fruit” by Christian Young, “I’ve Been ‘Buked” by Journey (Tederia Witherspoon) and “I Must Tell Jesus” by Aubrey Summer.

Jessica Johnson, the College’s director of Wellness Services, served as the program’s mistress of ceremony. The celebration included the singing of “Life Every Voice and Sing” and a welcome and libations by Dr. Anderson-Steele.

Held from 1-3 p.m. in the Delaino Student Center on the Pensacola campus, the free event was sponsored by the College’s Black History and Multicultural Committee, the African American Student Association, Polimbatree and the African American Heritage Society of Pensacola.

WBQP-TV 12 broadcast the event live.

Connecting the Community

Be sure to catch highlights from the PSC Juneteenth celebration and other festivals on the “Connecting the Community’s Fun With Festivals” episode set to premier at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on WSRE.

The episode will also feature WSRE’s Be My Neighbor Day and Amazing Kids Day, Fred Levin Way Fest and the Watson Family Foundation Juneteenth celebration.

Other air dates and times are: