Madison’s 20th Annual Juneteenth Day Celebration
Celebrating a milestone
Celebrating a milestone
Juneteenth co-chairs Mona Admas Winston (l) and Annie
Weatherby Flowers greet bystanders during the 2007
Juneteenth parade along with 2007 American Idol
contestant Denise Jackson
Weatherby Flowers greet bystanders during the 2007
Juneteenth parade along with 2007 American Idol
contestant Denise Jackson
By Jonathan Gramling
For the past 20 years, Madison has celebrated Juneteenth Day commemorating the date,
June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers told the last group of slaves in Galveston, Texas that the
Emancipation Proclamation had set them free. Ever since, in many places in the United States,
Juneteenth has been an African American Independence Day. This year’s rendition begins with a
special kick-off June 19 at noon at the Madison Municipal Building lobby and continues on the
next day at Penn Park.
Mona Adams Winston and Annie Weatherby Flowers are the last stalwarts from the first
Juneteenth Day committee that included the late Betty Franklin-Hammonds and Billy Hayes as
well as Ed Holmes, Isadore and Cheryl Knox and a host of others. But through thick and thin,
Winston and Weatherby have witnessed the event grow from a very simple event in Penn Park to a
full-scale celebration attended by thousands of people each year.
“ Juneteenth is one of those kinds of things where you jump into the water, tread the water,
don’t go deep and can get out when you want to,” Weatherby said about the people who have
come and gone over the years. “Mona and I went deep sometimes up to our noses where we were
just able to continue to breathe and survive. I think we have worked hard to get Juneteenth a
significant event in this city. It’s number ten in the nation. So I think the two of us — those ‘pushy
broads’ or whatever you want to call us — have made it go.”
When asked to reflect on memorable moments at the festival, Winston immediately brought up the parade. “It’s wonderful to ride in that parade down Park
Street,” Winston said. “They said we would never be able to come down Park Street. They wouldn’t close it off. It just feels so good every Juneteenth — this is the
11th year — Annie and I are in some convertible or some car that Zimbrick loans to us. We sit there throwing candy at kids. You feel like all the work that you’ve
done has come to fruition. You get to see the kids along the side and we end up at the park. That is so exciting. From 9:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. when we get
back to the park, the park transforms from people setting up to all of a sudden, the park is full.”
The parade has also been significant for Weatherby. “I think my most memorable Juneteenth was the parade when we had the regiment from Watertown,
the Union soldiers,” Weatherby recalled. “Following them, we had the 29th Infantry of the Colored Soldiers. We also had the character actors. We had the
children from the different communities in the parade. I looked back as we were turning on Beld Street. There were folks all the way back to Badger Road in the
parade. We had the Wienermobile.”
Winston and Weatherby recalled a Juneteenth when it was almost a family affair, literally. With few volunteers, they had to call upon their husbands and
children to help them set up Juneteenth. And after stints at Monona Terrace and the Alliant Energy Center, Winston and Weatherby told the community that it
had to step up to the plate and help out if Juneteenth were to return to Penn Park where it all got started back in 1990.
“We sat in the park and 10,000 people came,” Weatherby said. “It was so beautiful. It was hot and humid. There was a humming of people just enjoying
themselves. We also hosted the U.S. Conference of Mayors one year. Black mayors from all over the country came to Juneteenth.”
While Juneteenth is a quasi-Independence Day, it is also about family and reunions. “In 1999, on that Friday, we had a program on the Monona Terrace
Rooftop and my grandmother, Blossom Maiden, was still living,” Winston said. “She passed away in January 2000. She did a prayer for us and the photo was in
the newspaper of Johnny and myself standing behind her when she was doing the prayer. That’s just a precious memory to me. My mother and father are still
here to enjoy Juneteenth with me. My dad moved up here from New Orleans three years ago. But he used to plan coming up to Madison around Juneteenth.
That’s when he saw all of his old friends in Penn Park. Juneteenth has become a reunion for people. Sometimes people don’t see each other except at
Juneteenth. Sometimes I’ll bump into someone and they’ll say ‘When is Juneteenth? I don’t want to miss it.’ They have their calendar out and they’re writing it
down because they want to make sure they’ll be able to connect with their friends. I look at it that way too. I’m from Madison so I get to see friends and relatives. I
have five great grandkids who come to Juneteenth now. If we got everyone together, we’d have five generations at Juneteenth.”
There will be some changes at Juneteenth this year. Instead of having a free-standing Health Tent, a health area will be incorporated into the Main Tent
where the main stage and the community information tables are. “We’re using our 20th anniversary to really bring back the historical traditions of Juneteenth this
year,” Weatherby said. “We’re going to have Tejumola Ologboni who is an African storyteller. Where we usually have a Collective Work, we have him to do stories
from slavery to present. He’s going to use the theme ‘At Last, A Change Has Come.’ We also have mike Robinson who is a ventriloquist. He’s going to do a half
hour on the main stage and circulate through the crowd. Then we have the Juneteenth Band. When I saw one of the band members — I hadn’t seen him since
last summer — he said ‘I have it on the calendar.’ We have folks who have played with the likes of Bootsy Collins. Johnny Winston Jr. took over the Teen Tent. I
remember when we first started Juneteenth, he was up on the stage performing.”
The Heritage tent, which traditionally has focused on the diasporic connections between Africa, America and the Caribbean, is being used to teach people
about early Juneteenth celebrations. “For the Heritage area, Fabu, Madison’s poet laureate, came back to take the helm. We’re going to have a traditional
Juneteenth reenactment of a historical celebration from the 1900s. It should be really cool. We’ve convinced Richard Scott to bring his ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ piece
to the Heritage area to sit and talk to people. They’ll do a little excerpt and then be available for a little Q&A session.
And the day will end with an old time softball game being organized by Rev. David Smith, the head of the African American Council of Churches. Sunday
afternoon softball games featuring out-of-town teams were a traditional past time in the African American community.
20 years is a milestone for Winston and Weatherby and they are looking for leaders from the next generation to carry the mantle. “Annie and I have talked a
little about it<” Winston said. “It might be a little different in years to come. It may not be a festival in the park. It may be a concert or a dinner. For 20 years, it’s
been a festival and celebration. Some times, it is time to make a change, to do something different. It’s something we’re going to have to really talk about, pray
on and figure out what we can do in the years to come.”
Street,” Winston said. “They said we would never be able to come down Park Street. They wouldn’t close it off. It just feels so good every Juneteenth — this is the
11th year — Annie and I are in some convertible or some car that Zimbrick loans to us. We sit there throwing candy at kids. You feel like all the work that you’ve
done has come to fruition. You get to see the kids along the side and we end up at the park. That is so exciting. From 9:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. when we get
back to the park, the park transforms from people setting up to all of a sudden, the park is full.”
The parade has also been significant for Weatherby. “I think my most memorable Juneteenth was the parade when we had the regiment from Watertown,
the Union soldiers,” Weatherby recalled. “Following them, we had the 29th Infantry of the Colored Soldiers. We also had the character actors. We had the
children from the different communities in the parade. I looked back as we were turning on Beld Street. There were folks all the way back to Badger Road in the
parade. We had the Wienermobile.”
Winston and Weatherby recalled a Juneteenth when it was almost a family affair, literally. With few volunteers, they had to call upon their husbands and
children to help them set up Juneteenth. And after stints at Monona Terrace and the Alliant Energy Center, Winston and Weatherby told the community that it
had to step up to the plate and help out if Juneteenth were to return to Penn Park where it all got started back in 1990.
“We sat in the park and 10,000 people came,” Weatherby said. “It was so beautiful. It was hot and humid. There was a humming of people just enjoying
themselves. We also hosted the U.S. Conference of Mayors one year. Black mayors from all over the country came to Juneteenth.”
While Juneteenth is a quasi-Independence Day, it is also about family and reunions. “In 1999, on that Friday, we had a program on the Monona Terrace
Rooftop and my grandmother, Blossom Maiden, was still living,” Winston said. “She passed away in January 2000. She did a prayer for us and the photo was in
the newspaper of Johnny and myself standing behind her when she was doing the prayer. That’s just a precious memory to me. My mother and father are still
here to enjoy Juneteenth with me. My dad moved up here from New Orleans three years ago. But he used to plan coming up to Madison around Juneteenth.
That’s when he saw all of his old friends in Penn Park. Juneteenth has become a reunion for people. Sometimes people don’t see each other except at
Juneteenth. Sometimes I’ll bump into someone and they’ll say ‘When is Juneteenth? I don’t want to miss it.’ They have their calendar out and they’re writing it
down because they want to make sure they’ll be able to connect with their friends. I look at it that way too. I’m from Madison so I get to see friends and relatives. I
have five great grandkids who come to Juneteenth now. If we got everyone together, we’d have five generations at Juneteenth.”
There will be some changes at Juneteenth this year. Instead of having a free-standing Health Tent, a health area will be incorporated into the Main Tent
where the main stage and the community information tables are. “We’re using our 20th anniversary to really bring back the historical traditions of Juneteenth this
year,” Weatherby said. “We’re going to have Tejumola Ologboni who is an African storyteller. Where we usually have a Collective Work, we have him to do stories
from slavery to present. He’s going to use the theme ‘At Last, A Change Has Come.’ We also have mike Robinson who is a ventriloquist. He’s going to do a half
hour on the main stage and circulate through the crowd. Then we have the Juneteenth Band. When I saw one of the band members — I hadn’t seen him since
last summer — he said ‘I have it on the calendar.’ We have folks who have played with the likes of Bootsy Collins. Johnny Winston Jr. took over the Teen Tent. I
remember when we first started Juneteenth, he was up on the stage performing.”
The Heritage tent, which traditionally has focused on the diasporic connections between Africa, America and the Caribbean, is being used to teach people
about early Juneteenth celebrations. “For the Heritage area, Fabu, Madison’s poet laureate, came back to take the helm. We’re going to have a traditional
Juneteenth reenactment of a historical celebration from the 1900s. It should be really cool. We’ve convinced Richard Scott to bring his ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ piece
to the Heritage area to sit and talk to people. They’ll do a little excerpt and then be available for a little Q&A session.
And the day will end with an old time softball game being organized by Rev. David Smith, the head of the African American Council of Churches. Sunday
afternoon softball games featuring out-of-town teams were a traditional past time in the African American community.
20 years is a milestone for Winston and Weatherby and they are looking for leaders from the next generation to carry the mantle. “Annie and I have talked a
little about it<” Winston said. “It might be a little different in years to come. It may not be a festival in the park. It may be a concert or a dinner. For 20 years, it’s
been a festival and celebration. Some times, it is time to make a change, to do something different. It’s something we’re going to have to really talk about, pray
on and figure out what we can do in the years to come.”