Celebrating Juneteenth
NEWTON. The fourth annual event at Memory Park was organized by H3AL, a Black advocacy group.
Newton /
| 25 Jun 2024 | 04:10
Resident dance during the Juneteenth Celebration on Sunday, June 14 at Memory Park in Newton. (Photos by Kathy Shwiff)
H3AL volunteer Olivia Webster reads a children’s book about the Juneteenth holiday. (Photo provided)
Performers included a young hip hop group called Gas Ranges.
Scott Paul, founder of H3AL, performs at the Juneteenth celebration.
Lorant Mena, H3AL’s director of impact education, performs at the Juneteenth celebration.
Brittany Barthelemy, H3AL’s director of outreach, performs at the Juneteenth celebration.
Resident dance during the Juneteenth Celebration in Newton.
Resident dance during the Juneteenth Celebration.
Resident dance during the Juneteenth Celebration.
Resident dance during the Juneteenth Celebration. The event also included vendors and community organizations.
Performers included a young hip hop group.
Noelle Cobin of Kalimari Fitness was one of the vendors. (Photo provided)
Residents celebrated Juneteenth with music, dance, spoken word performances and speeches Sunday, June 16 at Memory Park in Newton.
Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
This was the fourth annual celebration organized by H3AL, a Black advocacy group founded in Newton.
H3AL (Highlighting Equality & Equity through Education, Advocacy & Love) is run by Scott Paul, Lorant Mena and Brittany Barthelemy, all graduates of Newton High School.
The three performed at the event along with the hip hop group Gas Ranges and others.
“We’ve had a lot of incredible speakers,” Mena, H3AL’s director of impact education, said about the event.
This was the first time that H3AL has worked with Norwescap on the Juneteenth celebration after forming a partnership with that organization earlier this year.
Many of the students involved in a Norwescap initiative called “EPIC - Building an Antiracist World through Education, Participation, Intention & Courage” attended the celebration. Some performed spoken word pieces, although a decision was made not to display their artworks outside to avoid damage to them.
Menant said Olivia Webster, a college freshman and H3AL volunteer, did a storytelling activity about Juneteenth with children there.
”She’s just incredible,” he said, noting that she came to the first Juneteenth celebration and spoke there. “That was a nice moment for all of us to see her and watch her growth.”
Like Fourth of July
Paul said he would like to see Juneteenth become another celebration like the Fourth of July.
H3AL plans to hold it on a Saturday next year. The conflict with Father’s Day may have dampened turnout this year, he said.
About 50 to 75 people attended the celebration, which featured Black-owned businesses and community organizations. Many of the vendors sold health and wellness products.
H3AL offered its first food product: a purple punch made with the help of herbalist Danny Parrott, who was a Juneteenth vendor last year. “All the kids really liked it,” Menant said.
One of H3AL’s goals is to encourage children to associate fun with things that are healthy and natural, he added.
H3AL plans to sell the punch along with T-shirts and tote bags through its website to help fund its activities.
Paul said H3AL’s partnership with Norwescap should allow it to expand beyond Sussex County to the six counties that Norwescap serves and perhaps eventually to the entire state.
Paul is a Norwescap board member who has been using its services since he attended the Head Start program as a child. During the coronavirus pandemic, he helped deliver food to Norwescap clients.