Today, June 19, is a special day in Wharton, despite the tumultuous tempest of a global pandemic textured with rising tempers of questions surrounding race.
Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, was the biggest event this city had seen, said Wharton councilman and Juneteenth event organizer Clifford Jackson, who remembers those days fondly, when people came together both in solitary and in celebration.
‘It was the biggest annual event Wharton had, bar none. You could add up all the other events we had and it wouldn’t amount to the number of people who came to Wharton on that one day.’
“When I was growing up, Juneteenth was big. It used to be a parade. We had parades that would come through downtown and march all the way through to Harris Park. You had festivities at Harris Park and on the square. It was a big event,” Jackson told The County Gin. “I remember hearing those drums when I was little and thinking, ‘Man, the band is coming.’ They were marching through neighborhoods, from downtown all the way down Milam all the way to Harris Park. So, I could come out of the garage and come to the corner and see the entire band and watch the entire parade. Juneteenth was an all-day celebration.”
After a generation passed the baton, Jackson and others tried to pick up where the pioneers left a growing legacy.
‘It’s harder to start a new fire once that fire has gone out but if you have spark, any flame, you can add to it and keep it going and get bigger with it, so I wasn’t the spark or the flame, it was already lit. I was like a piece a wood. I was just a little piece of the puzzle.’
“Another group had done this nine times in the last 10 years, spearheaded by James Simmons and Paul and C.J. Kearney. Those were the guys who resurrected it and brought it back,” he said. “Something transpired at the end of last year and they said we’re not going to have it, so we put together a small group to tried to make it continue, then COVID-19 hit.”
Earlier this year, Jackson and other organizers were working under the ticking clock, with only three or four months to plan the event, scheduled for June 13.
After Juneteenth was cancelled following a disaster declaration, Jackson said his feelings regarding the circumstances were bittersweet.
“One, we wanted to be able to have it this year, but two, it wasn’t going to be as it had been in the past because of the short time frame we were working with; we were working with three to four months max, so we didn’t have a lot of time,” he said. “On the brighter side, we have a whole year to plan to make this a great event. I won’t say greater than it’s been in the past because I don’t know how many thousands of people came to Wharton on that weekend. It was the biggest annual event Wharton had, bar none. You could add up all the other events we had and it wouldn’t amount to the number of people who came to Wharton on that one day.”
The organizer told The Gin he was inspired to help in the effort, reflecting on the days of his youth and the work already put into making the event special for the Wharton community once again.
‘American history is bloody and dirty and nasty. We have independence, we have some freedom; it depends on where you are and who is in charge at that time. Free isn’t free for everybody.’
“I got involved to pick it up because it had been going so strong and growing more and more each year, so it would be a shame for that to come to a climax and go to nothing. I’ve been there the years when it was nothing. It was dead and I just didn’t want to go back to that,” Jackson said. “I wanted to keep that fire burning, just like a real fire, right? It’s harder to start a new fire once that fire has gone out but if you have spark, any flame, you can add to it and keep it going and get bigger with it, so I wasn’t the spark or the flame, it was already lit. I was like a piece a wood. I was just a little piece of the puzzle.”
Despite the cancellation of this year’s Juneteenth event, he feels people should still commemorate the day and use it as an opportunity for self-reflection and education.
‘We can start by planting that seed. Someone else is going to come along and water it and cultivate it and then it will grow. The other generations may see the fruits of that labor, but somebody has to plant the seed.’
“Of course, we can celebrate. It’s hard to celebrate togetherness when you have social distancing, you know? I’m sure people (will celebrate) the day in their own homes. I’ll mostly be working, but letting these guys know and understand what the event was and what it meant to this group of people,” he said. “In every group, there’s a part of the American fabric. When you break these down, looking at the Fourth of July — that was America’s independence. You still had people who were enslaved. American history is bloody and dirty and nasty. We have independence, we have some freedom; it depends on where you are and who is in charge at that time. Free isn’t free for everybody.”
For Jackson, the meaning of freedom is important to examine following the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests that ensued.
“You see that (question) in these protests worldwide. This is something we have to build on and it starts in our home and in our communities and in little old towns like Wharton. Before we even start to think about a state or even a country, we have to start doing that at home,” Jackson said. “Whether you agree with an individual or not, these things start at the home. Nobody is born hateful of somebody else. A little white kid doesn’t know how to hate a little black kid and vice versa. Where does white come from? Where does black come from? What’s a color? Does that really describe a person?
“Some of those things go real deep, but we need to stop putting things aside and stop glossing over them, saying, ‘Oh, someone else will get to that.’ No, we need to get to it now because the next generation is going to need that. We need to live to see the change. We can start by planting that seed. Someone else is going to come along and water it and cultivate it and then it will grow. The other generations may see the fruits of that labor, but somebody has to plant the seed.”
In anticipation of the future, along with a fond memories of past celebrations, Jackson hopes the event will bring the Wharton community together once again, despite growing tensions amid conversations about race.
‘I want every color to be out there. I want every store owner to open up their doors, be ready for this because there’s going to be a flood of people coming into your business. Are you going to be ready for them? I want Wharton to open up its arms, open up its doors, open up everything we have to receive the influx of people that are going to come and appreciate them and embrace them.’
“When you look out at that crowd, you just didn’t see black people, you saw people — all races. You saw a mixture of people there and with every emancipation, it wasn’t just certain people,” he said. “The question is, ‘Who helped in that?’ It wasn’t just solely black people. Other people of other colors helped in that. So whatever is going on in America, we talk about freedom, we talk about pride, we talk about, ‘What does it really mean to be free?’ In this day and age, are we really free and is that freedom gone from us in certain areas?
“Then you look at Mr. Floyd. Not only was his freedom taken in that instance, but his life was taken. Juneteenth means a liberation of everybody and I don’t want to make this a black thing. I don’t want to make it big just because I’m an Afro-American. I want every color to be out there. I want every store owner to open up their doors, be ready for this because there’s going to be a flood of people coming into your business. Are you going to be ready for them? I want Wharton to open up its arms, open up its doors, open up everything we have to receive the influx of people that are going to come and appreciate them and embrace them and ask, ‘How can we build on that?’”
Jackson believes it takes an entire community working in solidarity toward a common cause.
“We want this coalition to not just be about Juneteenth and I struggled with the name. Do we want to regulate ourselves to just one event? If we’re having a Juneteenth celebration, why can’t every organization join in and help with that celebration? If it’s Cinco De Mayo, why not every organization join in and help with that? If you celebrate individually, why can’t you celebrate openly and help them with their project?” Jackson told The Gin. “Any project in Wharton ought to be all hands on deck. What can we do to promote this and make it a Wharton event, not just a segregated event? It ought to be everybody. Give somebody a task and you will be surprised, they’ll say, ‘Oh they think enough of me to allow me to assist them in doing this; I’m going to do my best.’ I’ve never been one to try to exclude anyone. I want to include every race, color, creed you are from. Whatever age you are, if you’re 5 years old, there’s something that a 5-year-old can do to inspire someone who is 85. Whatever they’re doing, they’re submitting their work to the same project.”
If you would like to make a donation or volunteer for Juneteenth 2021, email Jackson at cjackson@cityofwharton.com.
