LYNN — February is Black History Month. And in Lynn, Black History Month is the traditional starting point for a half-year’s worth of civic events celebrating African-American culture.
The events culminate June 20 on Lynn Common with the fourth annual Lynn Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth is held one day after the June 19 historic date that coincides with the day in 1865 when Union troops informed enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and they were free.
The news came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation’s signing.
Nicole Mcclain, president and founder of the North Shore Juneteenth Association Inc., helped get the ball rolling on this year’s African-American history focus in her capacity as Lynn children’s librarian. She assisted in coordinating installation of an exhibit in the North Common Street library’s main reading room chronicling African-Americans, including one-time Lynn resident Frederick Douglass, who petitioned for changes in the law aimed at toppling discrimination.
The exhibit runs through this week and it overlapped last Monday’s annual Community Minority Cultural Center (CMCC) Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and day of service.
During Black History Month, Old Tyme Italian Restaurant on Boston Street hosts a kid-friendly paint night on Feb. 15 oriented around Black History Month. Scheduled from 2-4 p.m., the event reflects North Shore Juneteenth Association Inc.’s goals.
“Our Mission is to create events and programming that will expose all cultures to positive images of African-American culture,” Mcclain stated on the Association website.
Spring events include the April 11 Black Excellence 5K starting from Rolly’s Tavern in Wyoma Square with 8:30 a.m. day of registration sign up and 10 a.m. race start. On May 2, Hats Heels and High Tea takes over the Lynn Museum on Washington Street for a day of dressed up fun with an emphasis on African-American culture.
The tea will be held just weeks before CMCC’s recognition awards event tentatively scheduled for May 23 and honoring the organization’s half century as a voice for change and equality in Lynn.
The Juneteenth flag raising is scheduled for June 9 in front of City Hall as a preliminary event for Juneteenth celebration.
Last year’s Juneteenth was held on Mount Vernon Street and filled with speakers and music, including remarks by Darrell Jones who was released from prison in 2017 after being confined for 32 years and subsequently found not guilty in a murder case retrail.
At the second annual Juneteenth celebration, Mcclain said Juneteenth not only celebrates African-American history but also focuses on dispelling negative African-American stereotypes.
