Celebrations of Juneteenth

“Juneteenth marks the day when enslaved African Americans learned of their freedom, symbolizing a critical step toward making those founding principles which appear at the beginning of the United States Constitution a reality,” NAACP Doña Ana County Branch President Bobbie Green said, as NAACP DACB prepares to host its annual Juneteenth banquet, and “Juneteenth Gospel Explosion.”

The Juneteenth Gospel Explosion will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, June 19, at Heart for the World Church, 1605 S. Valley Drive. It will include the NMSU Gospel Choir, Greater St. John Church in Christ, Bethel Second Baptist Church, New Life Missionary Baptist Church, Faith Center Ministries, Tyler Christopher and Rosalind Jones. The concert is free to attend and open to the public.

“Gospel music holds a special place in Juneteenth celebrations because it embodies the faith that sustained African Americans through slavery and an unwavering belief in a better future,” said Green, a gospel singer and long-time director of the NMSU Gospel Choir. “Its signature call-and-response style was often used to covertly communicate messages to other slaves, without slave owners knowing. This year’s Juneteenth Gospel Explosion honors gospel music’s importance and historical role by featuring local choirs and musicians who will deliver a message to our audience through the mystical and magical power of gospel music.”

The Juneteenth Banquet begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. The keynote speaker is Gene Grant, executive director of the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs. Tickets are $100 and must be purchased in advance. For tickets and more information, visit naacpdac.org.

“The theme, ‘We the People,’ holds special significance for this Juneteenth commemoration because it calls attention to a demand for us to fight for the promise of freedom, equality, and justice for all Americans,” Green said. “Historically, people of African descent have been excluded from those ideals presented at the nation’s founding. Dr. Martin Luther King suggested that this was a promissory note that had not yet been fulfilled. It still hasn’t been fulfilled. But, just as the enslaved people believe in better days ahead, we, the ancestors of those enslaved people, must fight to fulfill promises made, but not yet kept.”