Juneteenth celebration at Buddhist center in East Orange honors anniversay of slaves' emancipation

by Rohan Mascarenhas/The Star-Ledger

Sunday June 21, 2009, 8:43 PM

A Juneteenth celebration in East Orange today had the usual outdoor festival fanfare: live music, speeches and even a little double Dutch jump roping. The Buddhist influence, however, added a twist.

About 200 people attended event commemorating the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arriving in Galveston, Texas, announced the Civil War was over and slaves were to be freed.

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerCourtenaye Lawrence led a group of people in a west African dance called 'Fanga, ' during a celebration of Juneteenth in East Orange today. The Buddhist group Soka Gakkai International marked the African-American Emancipation with a moving exhibition, live entertainment and other fun activities.

The gathering took place at the Franklin Street community center of Soka Gakkai International-USA, a 12 million-strong Buddhist association that promotes Buddhist chants, meditation and world peace around the globe. There are approximately 4,000 members in New Jersey.

Attendees ate barbecued food and joined in an African dance and hopscotch as they reflected on how their Buddhist beliefs related to Juneteenth.

"It's about the dignity of every human being and the right to pursue their happiness," said Courtenaye Lawrence of East Orange, who became a Buddhist in 1969. "You can turn a negative thing into a positive thing. People shouldn't be deprived to seek opportunities to change."

Lawrence led a small group in a spirited West African welcome dance called "Fanga," which she said she learned in college.

The day also featured a number of stage acts, including a spoken word group and a Latin band. Jennifer Phillip, 30, an English professor at Union County College in Elizabeth, participated in an educational skit about Juneteenth.

"The significance of the ending of slavery has been lost to Americans, even African-Americans, and we just have to reclaim it," she said later. "We go from slavery to Martin Luther King to civil rights. It's a very abbreviated view of history."

Greg Taylor, 58, of Montclair said he proposed the celebration because he had never attended one for Juneteenth, despite first hearing of the event years ago.

"Juneteenth is all about the joy of being free, and our organization is all about helping people be free through their individual efforts," he said of the multicultural organization.

Others felt the unofficial holiday needed more publicity.

"It's popular in the South and West, but it's still only growing in the Northeast," said Lawrence Hamm, chairman of the community activist group People's Organization for Progress and the event's keynote speaker. "This is a special day because it focuses specifically on slavery and emancipation. You really can't understand current conditions in America unless you understand those two things."

Hamm added this year's celebrations were particularly momentous because the U.S. Senate issued an apology for slavery last week.

President Barack Obama also noted Juneteenth in a press release.

"June 19, or Juneteenth, is now observed in 31 states," Obama said. "Nearly a century and a half later, the descendants of slaves and slave owners can commemorate the day together and celebrate the rights and freedoms we all share in this great nation that we all love."