American slavery persisted 33 months after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and nearly 30 months after the executive order went into effect.
Consider how long that time frame feels to you, Justan Fields told a crowd Friday outside Allen High School. Consider how insufficient, for all its symbolic power, the Emancipation Proclamation was during that period.
Nearly a hundred people gathered Friday for the raising of the Pan-African flag for Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the final liberation of slaves on June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas.
Fields, a leader of the Allentown Black Lives Matter group, was among a number of speakers who commended attendees for their participation in Friday’s ceremony as well as in the recent protests against police brutality and structural racism.
But they emphasized that the symbolic power of the demonstrations will prove shallow if it doesn’t lead to tangible, permanent, systemic change.
“This is just the first step,” organizer Yamelisa Taveras said. “It has to be.”
Meanwhile, more than 100 demonstrators marched Friday through downtown Bethlehem to call for racial unity and an end to police violence, especially against people of color.
The multiracial group of people mostly in their 20s marched from Daniel Rice Plaza to Rose Garden Park, where the crowd heard speakers and live musical performances from various local bands.
The marchers carried signs reading “Black Lives Matter” and chanted slogans such as “No justice, no peace, no racist police.”
Some onlookers applauded while some passing motorists honked their horns in support, drawing cheers from the marchers.
In Allentown, Taveras, an Allen grad and the founder of the nonprofit Unidos Foundation, just the day before reached out to Allen High Principal Shannon Mayfield (the school’s first black leader) about holding the flag-raising ceremony outside the school on North 17th Street.
It was originally to take place outside City Hall, but Mayor Ray O’Connell informed organizers on Tuesday that the gathering would be limited to 25 people because of the pandemic and that no one else would be able to speak after he read a proclamation.
O’Connell reversed course Wednesday and decided to invite Taveras and other community activists to speak. But Taveras and others on Thursday declined the invitation because they felt O’Connell’s response was “condescending” and merely the result of media attention.
On Friday — amid shouts of “Where’s the mayor?” — Taveras thanked Allen High for welcoming them and criticized O’Connell for shutting them out.
Rodney Bushe, another Allen graduate and community activist, told a handful of elected officials in attendance that Allentown’s black and Hispanic communities were expecting them to step up and pursue radical policy change.
“We are holding you accountable,” he said. “This is not simply going to be a ‘Kumbaya’ moment where you show your face and hope that the tide will gradually come down.”
“And still we rise!” someone shouted.
“If the power does not shift, we will take it by force,” Bushe continued. “We will get folks out to vote, we will train conscious people to run for office. We will make sure we get the money and resources our communities deserve, and we will make sure our children are taken care of.”
Demonstrator Vic Laboy contemplated how demoralizing it must have been for his ancestors to see their children born into chattel slavery. Today, too many black parents today have to worry about their children avoiding poverty, ending up in prison or being shot dead in the streets.
All too often, Laboy has heard white people say, “This used to be a really beautiful city.” Though left unspoken, Laboy knows the rest of the sentence is, “until the black and brown people moved in.”
More than 250 years have passed since the first Juneteenth, but the fight for equality is far from over, he said.
“There is much more to come,” he said. “It starts today.”
In Bethlehem, Donovan Austin of Easton, one of the event’s organizers, told the crowd gathered at Rose Garden Park. “My ancestors were slaves in this country. My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents stood before the people, demanding to be treated equally. I am not … a ‘thug.’ I’m a human being like anyone else.
“Those of us gathered here are of different colors, but right now we’re all one color and that color is love,” Austin said to cheers, raised fists and applause in the audience.
The idea for Bethlehem’s event was born weeks prior when Austin and several other friends, who are members of a local band, performed at a similar protest at the Bethlehem Public Library.
“People just started throwing money at us as we were performing and we ended up raising about $770,” band member and event co-organizer Maxamilly Vazquez of Bethlehem said.
Band member and co-organizer Nailah Vazquez of Bethlehem said the money raised will be donated to local organizations.
“So, after that protest at the library, we decided to organize our own and have it on Juneteenth, which is a celebration of African-American culture and history. We wanted an event to promote peace, unity, good music and good vibes.”
The organizers invited friends via social media to participate in the rally.
“I heard about it through Instagram and thought it would be a really nice thing to be part of,” Anna Gehman of Bethlehem said. “Black people have a lot of reason to be upset. Police have too much power and use violence way too much, in my opinion. This protest is a good way to get the word out that things need to change.”
Carrying the red, black and green African American pride flag, Joel Paulson of Lower Saucon Township said, “Others have had their eyes opened to something that black people know has existed for a very long time. I really have a lot of hope that the energy we’re seeing among the participants here today continues going forward and that police officers who use unnecessary force will finally be held accountable.”
Participant Fabiana Gomez of Allentown said it’s important for people to be visibly active in bringing about an end to all forms of discrimination.
“If you’re not being seen taking action and calling your elected officials and taking other steps, then are you really doing your part?” Gomez asked. “It’s about time that we all started being treated equally. We’re all one race and that’s the human race.”
Some who watched the marchers pass through downtown voiced their approval.
“It’s great to see young people participating in a civil exercise, which is what we all should be doing,” said Bernardo Torres of Bethlehem, enjoying a meal with his wife outside the Pho Bowl Vietnamese/Thai restaurant on Broad Street.
His wife, Louise Torres, said, “What they’re doing is protected by our Constitution. And it’s great to see they’re doing it peacefully.”
Morning Call reporter Andrew Wagaman can be reached at 610-820-6764 or awagaman@mcall.com.
