Wesleyan Celebrates Juneteenth with Middletown

Wesleyan community members marched and tabled at Middletown’s Liberation Day Festival and annual parade in celebration of Juneteenth on Thursday, June 19. A gold-level sponsor of the festivities, the University has participated in each of the three years of the parade. 

Following a parade down Main Street, this year’s festival in Harbor Park had the theme of “all things joy” and featured dance competitions, poetry readings, and refreshments for attendees. Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Willette Burnham-Williams said Juneteenth provides the chance for Wesleyan to continue its consistent partnerships with the local community and Middletown Ujima Alliance—a local group focused on fostering equity in the region and unify the Middletown community. “I just think it's a great way for us to demonstrate our commitment to participating as citizens of Middletown and in celebrating this very new federal holiday,” Burnham-Williams said. 

Members of the Office for Equity and Inclusion and other university partners had a table with materials and games for children to educate attendees on the history of Juneteenth. The federal holiday celebrates the date when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to liberate the last group of enslaved people. That took place on June 19, 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.  

“It's revisiting how important it is to communicate the message around freedom, humanity, and the importance of connecting citizens across these things that we hold so dear,” Burnham-Williams said. 

Participation in Juneteenth offers a chance for the University to reaffirm its values, Burnham-Williams said. “Our participation in the Juneteenth festivities here in Middletown reiterates what has been the commitment of the University since the change in the national approach to this work, right? And so, what better time to reinforce Wesleyan commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of humanity, which to me, is what kind of Juneteenth is all about and participate in a way that says we're going to continue to lean into these values,” Burnham-Williams said. 

Jennifer Hadley, library assistant, music outreach, and collections assistant, has marched in the parade each of the last two years. Her continued enthusiastic participation exemplifies the spirit of all members of the Wesleyan community who came out, Burnham-Williams said. She proudly helped hold up a custom themed banner and joined other members of the faculty and staff during the parade. 

“It was a wonderful experience to join with colleagues in showing Wesleyan’s support and care for Middletown by taking part in the annual Liberation Day celebration,” Hadley said. “Families waved and stopped by the table to say hello and enjoyed the flags, fans, stickers, and tattoos we gave out for the festivities. It was also great to connect with other local organizations celebrating this vibrant community.”