The University of Minnesota hosted a Juneteenth celebration in North Minneapolis Saturday to bring the community together at a block party to commemorate the anniversary of enslaved Black Americans emancipation in 1865.

The free event, called The Art of Freedom: A Juneteenth a Celebration, took place at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center and featured Black musicians, performers, speakers, vendors, free food, free haircuts, a poster showcase, art, a petting zoo and more. 

Although this was the second annual event for The Art of Freedom celebration, this is the first year the University is observing Juneteenth as a holiday.

“Acknowledging the importance of Juneteenth — without ignoring current challenges both in our country and local community — is part of the University’s commitment to recognizing the richness of experiences of every employee,” said Vice President for Human Resources Kenneth Horstman in a statement to the Minnesota Daily. “Juneteenth is a celebration as well as an opportunity to reflect, amplify voices and share knowledge.”

Terresa Moses, the University’s director of Design Justice and an assistant graphic design professor, organized the event. She said it is “beyond meaningful” to have the opportunity to plan an event celebrating and recognizing Black history.

“Being able to create spaces and plan events that are centered in the Black experience, I think it makes my ancestors proud, and I’m empowered by my ancestors to do so,” Moses said. “With the work that my ancestors have done, previous freedom fighters and historical abolitionists, and then me being able to stand here and say, ‘I am an abolitionist and a freedom fighter,’ and I’m doing these things to help our community, it feels like a full-circle moment.

This year’s Art of Freedom event used the slogan “Joy. Resistance. Rest.”

Moses said she chose these three words because they bring an understanding of what it means to live the “Black experience.”

She said “joy” means Juneteenth being a celebration of freedom and abolition. “Resistance” represents the places in society where Black people are not free and must continue to have resiliency, like when experiencing police violence and healthcare discrimination. Lastly, she said “rest” signifies Juneteenth as an opportunity to breathe and “just exist and be valued as a Black person.”

The event began with a commemorative march for Black lives, which featured police protest signs and chants. Halfway through the march, a moment of silence was held while people gathered roses and dropped them off to remember Black lives lost at the hands of police, according to Moses.

“Whenever we do marches or protests, it’s really a reflection of what has happened in the past,” Moses said. “Being able to bring that nuance in that kind of solemn piece of history is super important if we are recognizing what it means to live the Black experience.” 

The march happened one day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced their findings that the Minneapolis Police Department had engaged in a “pattern of practice” of unconstitutional and discriminatory policing.

A memorial sign at the event which said “Say Their Names: Remembering Black Minnesotans Murdered by Police” listed the names of 60 Black Minnesotans who died at the hands of police. 

Art of Freedom attendees celebrate

Lee Lafayette, who is Black, attended the Art of Freedom event on Saturday with his wife and four-year-old son. He went to the first Art of Freedom celebration last year with his family.

He said his favorite part of the event was seeing a large community come together and celebrate with good food and drinks, while watching his son enjoy the activities and music.

He added Juneteenth has special significance to his career as an attorney. 

“I’m actually an estate planning attorney,” Lafayette said. “I feel that what I do tries to help lower disparities in real estate, so Juneteenth really means a lot to me because it coincides with a lot of what I do.”

Lafayette said he thinks Juneteenth getting recognition as a federal holiday was long overdue and he is happy more people are taking time to celebrate the occasion. The Saturday event was also the two-year anniversary of President Joe Biden (D) signing the bill declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Meera Manoharan, a fourth-year student at the University, also attended the Art of Freedom celebration with two friends. She learned about the event just a few days before.

Manoharan said she and her friends participated in the march at the start of the event before checking out the posters, animals and eating lots of food.

“I didn’t realize just how much there would be to do and now we’re staying longer than we planned,” Manoharan said.

Manoharan and her friends joined a crowd gathered in front of the stage when Tarli, a Twin Cities hip-hop music creator, took to the stage late in the afternoon. Many people danced to his upbeat music. When he finished his last song, Manoharan and her friends joined the crowd asking for an encore, which Tarli delivered after a few minutes.

“I really love being here and seeing everyone celebrate together,” Manoharan said.