Juneteenth Unity March propelled by L.I. youth

In celebration of Juneteenth, the second Long Island Unity and Juneteenth March was held at 2 p.m. from Cow Meadow Park, at the foot of South Main Street in Freeport. The march was headed by 17-year-old Ariana Levin of South Huntington, who also organized the first LI Unity March in June 2020 after her school didn't address the George Floyd murder in a timely manner.

Shanequa Levin, mother of Ariana Levin and founder and CEO of the Women's Diversity Network, said that Juneteenth "recognizes that Black people have a different independence day because this day represents all Black people becoming free. Independence Day didn't make us free."

Juneteenth is the name devised by African-Americans for June 19th, 1865, when Union troops rode into Galveston, Texas, to tell Black slaves — belatedly — that all slaves in Confederate states had been proclaimed free by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of Jan. 1, 1863.

Craig Moore, who brought his children to the march from Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, said he wanted to lend support to the movement. "We are still facing some difficult times in this country,” Moore said. “Now [Juneteenth] is a federal holiday—you know, small steps."

 Deborah Newton, of Freeport, who also brought her daughter, niece, and nephew, said, "My family celebrated Juneteenth for years, with barbecues and watching educational movies." She teared up when discussing Juneteenth as a nationally recognized holiday, saying, "My mother picked cotton, so slavery wasn't that long ago. It's important for other people to know our struggle."

President Joe Biden signed a bill establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday after the House passed the bill with a 415-14 vote. New York state had already recognized Juneteenth on Oct. 14, 2020, when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law legislation proclaiming it an official state holiday. He had previously issued an executive order recognizing it specifically for employees on June 17, 2020.

Ariana Levin agreed that Juneteenth is important, but viewed official recognition of it as a "band-aid" rather than "something that can fix the issues that are happening in the Black community in America," citing persistent problems with education, economics and police brutality.

Myles Hollingsworth, president of the NAACP Freeport-Roosevelt Youth Group, echoed Ariana’s sentiment. "The youth should be involved as much possible,” Hollingsworth said, “but the generation before them has to give them the tools they need to thrive, such as critical race theory education, reparations and economic advancement."

Hollingsworth also termed the declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday "performative," and emphasized intersectionality — the recognition of the interconnected nature of race, class and gender in society — in civil rights efforts. "Me and my team believe solidarity is a verb. It's communal support working towards joint liberation,” he said. “For example, when we say, stop Asian hate, or end mass incarceration, that's for both communities to thrive."

On Saturday, Black Legacy Partners also coordinated its first annual Juneteenth Food Festival with the Long Island Unity March. Both were held in the green expanse of Cow Meadow Park at the foot of South Main Street. The Unity March traversed the length of South Main from the park to Atlantic Avenue and back.

Black Legacy Partners President Kestle Bess founded the organization in 2020 after Covid-19 closures hit Black artists and entrepreneurs disproportionally. The festival, which is sponsored by Fidelis Care, ran after the march until 10 p.m. (see sidebar).

When asked what she wants people to take away from this march, Ariana Levin asked of the public, "Support Black businesses and entrepreneurs—we are out there."