LYNN — Even though the pandemic has forced many events online, the North Shore Juneteenth Association is continuing to celebrate Black history and achievement in the area.
Nicole McClain, who founded the organization in 2017, said that this time last year, they were planning multiple annual events, all of which ended up being either canceled or significantly altered to follow safety regulations.
“February of last year, we had had our Local Black Excellence event to celebrate Black History Month, and all of a sudden everything started falling apart,” McClain said. “We had things planned, but everything had to be changed to virtual events or canceled.”
McClain had the idea to start a celebration for Juneteenth (the holiday which commemorates the abolition of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865), in Lynn back in 2015, but wasn’t able to get an event organized for another two years. In the time in between, she had an experience that made it feel much more urgent.
While walking home from school with some friends, her son, who was 16 at the time, was harassed and grabbed by police officers, who threatened the teens with arrest with no explanation as to what they had done wrong.
“That opened my eyes to the fact that Black Americans have to change the perception that society has been plagued with around us being negative and sources of violence or disruption,” McClain said. “Every culture has that issue, not just Black Americans, but Black Americans seem to hold a lot of that burden.”
Since its first Juneteenth event, the organization has hosted an annual celebration for the day, as well as an annual 5k run, High Tea and the Local Black Excellence event. During the pandemic, they were able to broadcast their annual Juneteenth flag-raising online for those that couldn’t watch in person, and recorded local musicians and performers for people to watch at home to keep the celebration going. The Black Excellence 5k, a fundraiser for the organization, was also held virtually in August, and members of the Juneteenth Association worked together to deliver food to local homes to address food insecurity caused by the pandemic.
When Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the country last year following the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, McClain and other members pivoted to organizing protests and directly addressing inequality. They worked with the city of Lynn to implement antiracist policy, something McClain said she is optimistic about.
“It’s had some ups and downs, but right now they’re saying the police officers will be wearing body cameras, and now they’re working on a diversity, equity and inclusion position in City Hall, so I think we’re making some strides,” she said. “We’re getting places in the city as far as trying to walk in the right direction towards justice.”
Registration is open for the North Shore Juneteenth Association’s Local Black Excellence Forum, which will be held virtually on February 25.
