Over a hundred people gathered at McCorkle Place on Saturday to celebrate Juneteenth, the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Following nationwide protests over police brutality and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black Americans, there was a renewed interest in the holiday this year. Saturday’s event — which was postponed from last week — featured several speakers and spoken word poems performed by local artists.
Among the speakers was David Mason, Jr., one of the members of the Chapel Hill Nine.
“60 years ago, I was one of nine teenagers to stage the first sit-in in Chapel Hill,” said Mason. “We became known as the Chapel Hill Nine. On behalf of the Chapel Hill Nine, I am privileged to say welcome to the movement. You are what we’ve been waiting for.”
In 1960, Mason and eight others from Chapel Hill’s Lincoln High School organized a sit-in at the Colonial Drug Store on Franklin Street. The nine teenagers were arrested for seeking the same service that was given to white customers.
Mason reflected the reason for the sit-in in and said the fight will continue past the current generation of activists.
“The struggle for freedom did not start with you,” he said, “and unfortunately, it will not end with you.”
Since Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day, several “Black Lives Matter” events and protests have occurred in Orange County. Dozens of people at Saturday’s Juneteenth event held signs promoting the equality of Black Americans.
Rayna Blair, a junior at East Chapel Hill High School, spoke about the need for racial justice in the education system.
“The town of Chapel Hill, alongside with the rest of the Triangle, portrays the idea that it is not only progressive, but has some of the best education and diversity rates,” she said.
According to the Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District exceeds national average test scores more than any other district in North Carolina. The center, however, says the school system has the one of the largest achievement gaps between black and white students in the country.
Blair bemoaned the fact that Black figures like Trayvon Martin and Emmett Till often did not appear in history books.
“Last year in class, I brought up the name Trayvon Martin, and I was shocked to find that many White students didn’t either recognize the name or know who he even was.”
McCorkle Place is a common place for large gatherings in Chapel Hill, having been the site for years of protests surrounding the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam. In recent years, protests for women’s rights and climate change have also taken place.
Blair referenced those events and said the many students who attended those protests were not in attendance on Saturday.
“Close to here, right over there,” Blair said, pointing at Peace and Justice Plaza, “many students walked out of class to come here to fight climate change. Before then, many people rallied for women’s rights as well, both of which are important, but I don’t see half those faces in the crowds here today.”
In recent days, Chapel Hill and Carrboro passed resolutions enacting changes to police department policies, reform largely reflecting the requests of community members advocating for racial equity in treatment by law enforcement and the ending of police brutality.
Mason said he was proud of how protesters have enacted change in the local area.
“I’ll say once again, welcome to the movement. We are proud of you and we stand with you.”
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