MARBLEHEAD — The town held its second annual ceremony commemorating Juneteenth at Abbot Hall last week, and the participation of Marblehead Public Schools students brought an extra layer of significance to the event, said Marblehead High School Teacher Candice Joy Sliney in a statement.
The event was organized by The Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination in conjunction with North Shore Juneteenth Association, and was held on June 8. At the ceremony, the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” was performed, and the Juneteenth flag was raised.
Two MPS students, Alexis Earp and Celia Sliney, who serve as student representatives to the task force, presided over the event. Celia Sliney served as the event’s emcee while Earp read a land acknowledgment.
Another group of students, Ketsia Kiamanga, Michael Gabaud, Shakayla Baxter, Anáis Disla Soto, Alisa Colón, Tamya Johnson, Tamia Johnson, Tyrone Countrymon, Kendal-Arielle Vendrine-Ngole, and Le’Daisha Williams, delivered a speech they had written. The speech “touched on different aspects of life in the USA as a Black young person, and highlighted what justice would look like, feel like, and sound like,” according to the statement.
Greg Coles from Greg Coles Dance & Drum provided African drumming for the event, as well as history and storytelling, the statement said.
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
