June 21, 2023

Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver host special Juneteenth event

REGIONAL
Story and photos by David Martin

Members of the Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver pose with Juneteenth speaker Zelmon (“ZEE”) Johnson during the June 18 reception at the Bishop Marshal Center in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – Members of the local Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver, who sponsored a Juneteenth celebration, gathered with several from the African American Community and parishioners to worship together at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield on June 18.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, marks June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger reached Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed that all enslaved persons were to be released; this was two years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the proclamation.

The Juneteenth event began with the 8:30 a.m. Mass celebrated by Msgr. Christopher Connelly, rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral. In his homily Msgr. Connelly prayed that during the Juneteenth national holiday the whole nation would be united under God.

Msgr. Connelly defined the word “compassion” as feeling bad for others and then taking action to offer help. He said it was the best of Christ’s attributes.

“As we celebrate Juneteenth this weekend, and as we recall countless people in our nation who took seriously the call of compassion and advocated for the end of slavery, we are reminded that it is our responsibility in imitation of Christ to show compassion to all as we do our little part to advance the big kingdom of God,” Msgr. Connelly said.

The St. Michael’s Cathedral Gospel Choir, which performs at the 8:30 a.m. Mass on Sundays, provided music for the Mass. Afterwards a reception took place in the Bishop Marshall Center, including coffee and donuts. The guest speaker was Zelmon “ZEE” Johnson the proprietor of the Olive Tree Books-n-voices Bookstore in Springfield. Johnson presented a talk about the history of Juneteenth that was in the form of a narrative story that compared events of the Civil War period with similar problems in the U.S. government and a divided country in present times. Johnson shared the terms “Freedom’s Eve” or “Watch Night” that she said go back to 1863 when enslaved people were waiting for the good news about the end of slavery.

“Even though the Emancipation Proclamation allowed slave persons to be free, some folks did not know about it, primarily Texans. They did not know about the end of the Civil War and they kept working; no one told them, it was deliberate,” Johnson explained. “Why not tell them? It is about the dollar, free labor, and it is about lack of information, disinformation.

“Finally, freedom to the Texans took place on June 19, 1865. They consider it Freedom or Jubilee Day and the first celebration occurred on June 19, 1866,” said Johnson.

Brian Skelly (left) sings with the Gospel Choir at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield on June 18.

Brian Skelly, a choir member in the Gospel Choir, said even though he is Irish and Italian in heritage he feels a strong connection with the struggles of African Americans since he was fortunate enough to be born and raised in a country that has an abundance of African American influence in it. He first learned about the Juneteenth story in 1990 from an African American neighbor who was from Texas.

“We have to realize that it is our history, all of our history, that we need to hear about,” said Skelly. “It is something that nationally had not been heard of by most people, even a lot of African Americans. I think it is very important for us.” He noted “the way the speaker brought it into the present tense and tied all of the whole story from the very beginning.

“She ended her speech with a poem from Langston Hughes, ‘I am America too.’ She had a very reconciliatory message that this is for all of us,” said Skelly.

Johnson, along with those who attended, agreed that it is very important to share the true story of Juneteenth and the heritage of African Americans with the younger generation so they can be proud of history and to prevent them from being misinformed.

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22 NEWS.