Juneteenth rings out on Friendship Square

People of all generations packed Friendship Square in Moscow to celebrate Juneteenth during an event Monday that included speakers, music and even a little bit of dancing.

Approximately 150 people arrived at the second annual event that is intended to be a Palouse-wide celebration.

“We are not here to mourn the past but to rejoice in the emancipation of millions of African Americans in the United States,” said Marlene Gaynair, a Washington State University assistant professor of history.

Gaynair was one of the speakers. She discussed the history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment and the origin of Juneteenth when Texas slaves finally learned of their freedom in 1865.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, but Gaynair said different cities and states were already celebrating the days marking their own emancipation.

Now, it is being celebrated on the Palouse. Though Juneteenth commemorates that moment in Galveston, Texas, Gaynair said, “we’re also enjoying the love and fellowship of each other in Friendship Square.”

Gaynair said she hopes people who attended Monday’s event leave with a better understanding of the African American experience.

“We should enjoy ourselves today and leave thinking, ‘You know, I want to find out more, I want to study U.S. history, I want to study African American history.’ ”

Scott Finnie, director of the Africana Studies Program at Eastern Washington University, shared a personal experience to illustrate the idea that race is an invented social construct used to divide people.

Finnie said that years ago he had a disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis that was destroying his liver. In order to live, the Black Oakland native needed to find a donor whose liver was identical to his own.

The donor who saved his life, Finnie said, was a “southern Idaho Caucasian farmboy.”

Finnie said that experience is testimony “that under the microscope we are all one blood.”

He said this is true even though people may have different cultures and ethnicities.

“Racism is a reality, but race is a myth,” he said.

He said it is time for Americans to validate and legitimize the lived experience of all people in the U.S. That means listening to people they cannot relate to instead of simply hearing them.

Finnie said society will change not from a new law or a major movement. He said it will happen on a personal level with people listening to one another.

“The transformation of our society will be person by person, dialogue by dialogue,” he said.

Most people in the large crowd, which included children and elderly folk, stayed through the entire event despite the unseasonably chilly weather.

Monday’s Juneteenth event also included music performed by WSU professors Darryl Singleton and Alan Malfavon. Their songs inspired a few in the crowd to show off their dancing skills.

Ken Faunce, chairperson of the Moscow Human Rights Commission, said the Juneteenth event is meant to be shared by both Pullman and Moscow, and that next year’s event will likely take place in Pullman.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.