Saturday, July 12, 2025 | St. Lawrence County, NY
POTSDAM - The sixth Annual Juneteenth event was celebrated with a variety of speakers, music, vendors and organizations at Ives Park Saturday, June 21.
“We are celebrating Freedom Day,” said Raamitha Pillay as she welcomed attendees.
Courtney Potts, a Mohawk educator, recited “Words Before All Else” to give thanks in the Mohawk tradition, to start the event.
Reverend Heidi Chamberlain of Potsdam United Methodist Church, gave the invocation and commemoration, saying Juneteenth “marks a significant milestone in the long journey toward freedom and equality for all.”
“May this day be a reminder of the progress we have made and a catalyst for the work that remains. May we be motivated to love each other, in all places, and at all times,” said Rev. Chamberlain.
Katrina Hebb, minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Potsdam, followed with a remembrance speech of Julie Miller, a Crane School of Music professor who, as a white woman, “worked her whole life for racial justice.”
“May we live like Julie Miller, who lived with the light of social justice in her heart,” said Hebb.
Potsdam Mayor Alex Wilke-Jacobs also spoke of the significance of Juneteenth.
Jennifer Baxtron, the founder of Black Lives Matter movement in Potsdam, shared how the Klan forced out blacks in the county 100 years ago. She also said she was still seeking answers and justice for the death of her son, Terron Evans, Jr.
Raamitha Pillay, a local educator and activist, gave a brief history of Juneteenth with the last slaves freed in Texas June 19, 1865. The Black community then began celebrating Jubilee Day, or Freedom Day, on June 19. It became a national holiday in 2021.
“Do what you can to make this a better world. Take out all the hate and bring in the love. We are all here for one another. Care about your next door neighbor. We all bleed the same,” said Florence Patterson, of the Pamoja International Cultural Exchange, Brasher Falls,
The event had several musicians interspersed throughout the five hour celebration.
The opening included “Lift every voice and sing,” a moving duet sung by Niciara House-Bowman and Johanna Sloan, of Gouverneur.
Other musicians, a fashion show, and dance party were among the highlights of the Juneteenth event.
