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PHOTOS: Celebrating Juneteenth in New Haven

Connecticut Public Radio | By Ryan Caron King
Published June 17, 2023 at 11:49 PM EDT
Members of the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps march to the New Haven Green in a parade commemorating Juneteenth on June 17, 2023. Tayvon berryman, director of the team, says it was important for the team to celebrate and keep African American history alive. “When you find out for yourself who you really are, it’s amazing to celebrate just who you are,” he said.
1 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Members of the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps march to the New Haven Green in a parade commemorating Juneteenth on June 17, 2023. Tayvon Berryman, director of the team, says it was important for the team to celebrate and keep African American history alive. “When you find out for yourself who you really are, it’s amazing to celebrate just who you are,” he said.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Members of the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps stop to perform in front of the New Haven green on their way to a Juneteenth Celebration. “The kids don’t know much of the history. We gotta keep them up on the knowledge,” said James Pearson, who teaches kids how to play the drums in the program.
2 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Members of the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps stop to perform in front of the New Haven green on their way to a Juneteenth Celebration. “The kids don’t know much of the history. We gotta keep them up on the knowledge,” said James Pearson, who teaches kids how to play the drums in the program.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Dr. Hanan Hameen, co-founder of the New Haven Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven, speaks to a group of children on the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps about the history of the holiday. “We’re standing on sacred ground. New Haven Green was an auction block,” she said. “Underneath this ground are bones of our ancestors. That’s why we do Juneteenth on the New Haven Green. We were enslaved here, and we’re celebrating our freedom here.”
3 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Dr. Hanan Hameen, co-founder of the New Haven Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven, speaks to a group of children on the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps about the history of the holiday. “We’re standing on sacred ground. New Haven Green was an auction block,” she said. “Underneath this ground are bones of our ancestors. That’s why we do Juneteenth on the New Haven Green. We were enslaved here, and we’re celebrating our freedom here.”
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
(From left) Baba Bill Mathews, Enroue Onigbonna Halfkenny, and Hanan Hameen lead the opening libation honoring their ancestors and the ancestors of the attendees of the Juneteenth celebration in New Haven. “We’re here to acknowledge our continued relationship with them. To acknowledge not just who they were, but how they continue to inform us today. Because who we are today is because of them,” Halfkenny said, before singing a Yorùbá chant.
4 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
(From left) Baba Bill Mathews, Enroue Onigbonna Halfkenny, and Hanan Hameen lead the opening libation honoring their ancestors and the ancestors of the attendees of the Juneteenth celebration in New Haven. “We’re here to acknowledge our continued relationship with them. To acknowledge not just who they were, but how they continue to inform us today. Because who we are today is because of them,” Halfkenny said, before singing a Yorùbá chant.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Sylvia Holmes-Myer holds a Juneteenth flag during the celebration of Juneteenth in New Haven. Her husband, Dr. Ronald “Doc” Myers, was the founder of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, credited for spearheading the movement to recognize the holiday.
5 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Sylvia Holmes-Myer holds a Juneteenth flag during the celebration of Juneteenth in New Haven. Her husband, Dr. Ronald “Doc” Myers, was the founder of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, credited for spearheading the movement to recognize the holiday.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
David Millington, a.k.a the Patriot Cowboy (left) gives 9-year-old Lailai Hugley a lesson in roping technique during the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven green. Millington runs a business out of Milford with the objective of keeping the tradition of ranch roping alive.
6 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
David Millington, a.k.a the Patriot Cowboy (left) gives 9-year-old Lailai Hugley a lesson in roping technique during the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven green. Millington runs a business out of Milford with the objective of keeping the tradition of ranch roping alive.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
David Millington, a.k.a the Patriot Cowboy demonstrates a roping technique during the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. Millington runs a business out of Milford with the objective of keeping the tradition of ranch roping alive.
7 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
David Millington, a.k.a the Patriot Cowboy demonstrates a roping technique during the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. Millington runs a business out of Milford with the objective of keeping the tradition of ranch roping alive.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Jamilia James, who goes by 4EVA on stage, sings at the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. James is part of the “Ice the Beef” organization, an anti-violence group working with youth in New Haven.
8 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Jamilia James, who goes by 4EVA on stage, sings at the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. James is part of the “Ice the Beef” organization, an anti-violence group working with youth in New Haven.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Members of the audience sing along with 4EVA’s performance at the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. The holiday commemorates the date enslaved people in Texas learned they were free by executive decree, almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
9 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Members of the audience sing along with 4EVA’s performance at the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. The holiday commemorates the date enslaved people in Texas learned they were free by executive decree, almost two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Almighty Kay Gee, an emcee with the Cold Crush Brothers, performs at the New Haven Juneteenth celebration. The Cold Crush Brothers were one of the first hip-hop groups to emerge from the Bronx after the birth of the genre in the 70s. “It’s a blessing to be here today,” he said. Members of the group said they frequently toured Connecticut when they first started out.
10 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Almighty Kay Gee, an emcee with the Cold Crush Brothers, performs at the New Haven Juneteenth celebration. The Cold Crush Brothers were one of the first hip-hop groups to emerge from the Bronx after the birth of the genre in the 70s. “It’s a blessing to be here today,” he said. Members of the group said they frequently toured Connecticut when they first started out.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
The Cold Crush Brothers — a pioneering group in the world of hip-hop — perform at the New Haven Juneteenth celebration on the city green.
11 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
The Cold Crush Brothers — a pioneering group in the world of hip-hop — perform at the New Haven Juneteenth celebration on the city green.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public
Messages to ancestors written by attendees of the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. The table was part of a tent set up by Enroue Onigbonna Halfkenny, a priest of Yorùbá religion, to honor peoples’ ancestors. “Juneteenth is the beginning of a recognition of the reality of what the institution of slavery was… And the steps that have been taken and continue to be taken for our liberation not just as African heritage people, but as all people,” he said.
12 of 12  — June 17, 2023 - New Haven Juneteenth Celebration
Messages to ancestors written by attendees of the Juneteenth celebration on the New Haven Green. The table was part of a tent set up by Enroue Onigbonna Halfkenny, a priest of Yorùbá religion, to honor peoples’ ancestors. “Juneteenth is the beginning of a recognition of the reality of what the institution of slavery was… And the steps that have been taken and continue to be taken for our liberation not just as African heritage people, but as all people,” he said.
Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public

New Haven’s Juneteenth celebration returned this weekend for its 10th year, hosted by the Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven and the Festival of Arts & Ideas.

This is the first year Connecticut is observing the annual celebration as an official state holiday that marks June 19, 1865 — the day the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom following the end of the Civil War.

The four-day festival, June 17-20, features youth performances, African dance and drumming, a Juneteenth marketplace with Black-owned businesses and vendors, and a performance by legendary early hip-hop pioneers Cold Crush Brothers, among other celebrations.

Saturday’s events began with a youth-led Freedom March from the old Stetson Library to the New Haven Green.

Ana Mitchell, an event organizer, said the march signifies the journey of freed people from enslavement to freedom and equality.

Tayvon Berryman, director of the Village Drill Team & Drum Corps who led the march, says it was important for the team to celebrate and keep African American history alive.

“When you find out for yourself who you really are, it’s amazing to celebrate just who you are,” he said.

Click through the gallery above to see more from Saturday.
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Ryan Caron King
Ryan Caron King joined Connecticut Public in 2015 as a reporter and video journalist. He was also one of eight reporters on the New England News Collaborative’s launch team, covering regional issues such as immigration, the environment, transportation, and the opioid epidemic.
See stories by Ryan Caron King

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