The Shelton High School band performed jazz standards to an audience at a corporate park in Shelton Wednesday night. A choir of high school students sang Lift Every Voice and Sing.
And drawings, and factoids of African American leaders compiled by students adorned the walls.
The tribute marked Shelton鈥檚 second annual Junteenth celebration.
Gregg Johnson, President of the Valley NAACP, which covers the Naugatuck Valley, said the city of Shelton has accepted the holiday, despite its past racial tensions and ongoing efforts by the federal government to deemphasize the role of the Black race in American history.
鈥淚 think it's a beautiful thing. It shows how far we have come, but we still have a long way to go,鈥� Johnson said.
Juneteenth marks the end of slavery, on June 19,1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War, when soldiers from the Union Army notified enslaved people in Galveston,Texas they were free. The date, long celebrated by African American communities throughout the United States, became a federal holiday in 2021.
Shelton celebrated Juneteenth for the first time on a city level in 2024. High school students, including Latifa Ndikumana spoke about what the holiday meant to them.
鈥淚t reminds us of a painful part of our nation's history, but also gives us hope for a better future,鈥� Ndikumana said.
黑料新闻, according to the descendant of a Black Union Army soldier, also has a connection. Sgt. Charles S. Tatten served in the and lived in nearby Ansonia at the time.
Tatten enlisted in 1863 and was one of the soldiers who notified enslaved people in Texas they were no longer enslaved.
His great great great grandson, Marc Strickland, said he shares his ancestor鈥檚 story not only because of his historic significance, but what he was up against.
鈥淚n the Civil War, Black soldiers were executed on site,鈥� Strickland said. There were no prisoners of war, and we're not even talking about the chance of being forced into slavery again.鈥�
Tatten would later become what is believed to be the first Black police officer in Ansonia.
The legacies of racism are close to home as well, according to Gregg Johnson, President of the Valley NAACP. Johnson said African Americans would warn each other to stay away from Shelton, just a few decades ago.
In 2019, a middle school student from Shelton was accused of spitting on a Black visitor at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The incident led to sharp criticism by Johnson over how the student was to be punished for their actions. CT Public also reported on another student in Shelton who wore blackface during the same year.
Immacula Cann, the 2024 Grand Marshal for the Juneteenth Parade in Bridgeport, said Juneteenth is needed especially since local social media pages advertising the holiday end up getting racist comments.
鈥淲e may have individuals who are trying to take that away, in terms of, that Juneteenth shouldn't be celebrated, I think more than ever, this is where we really celebrate it,鈥� Cann said.
Yet, the holiday has now become a part of the city鈥檚 annual line up of cultural events. Various local officials, including Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, have not only accepted the holiday, but have become enthusiastic supporters.
Johnson said the city has taken sincere steps to becoming a more inclusive place. But he said racism is still a fact of life in some situations - but so is the Valley NAACP鈥檚 efforts to fight it.
鈥淚t still rears its ugly head in some areas, but not as loud as it used to (be),鈥� Johnson said. But the work still continues, and we still continue to educate people on equality and justice, and everybody deserves the right to equal opportunity. 鈥�
