Music to entertain and educate to play meaningful role in Guelph Juneteenth celebration

Music will play a big role in the Guelph Black Heritage Society's Juneteenth celebrations this year.

Verese Vassell-Bowen, artistic director of the virtual event said the audience can anticipate an evening of not only gospel music, but also traditional hymns and contemporary songs performed by local Canadian artists. 

"Music is one of those unspoken languages that communicates to everybody," said Vassell-Bowen. "The idea is to approach it from a gospel perspective but not necessarily … somebody who's never heard of a traditional hymn will hear one that evening." 

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day and Black Independence Day, is a 156-year-old commemoration that signifies the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Grange arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery.

Vassell-Bowen says songs play an important role during this commemoration because it serves to highlight the ways slaves would uplift each other while they were enslaved in the plantations. 

'My ancestors went through this'

Each song performed will underline messages about the experiences of Black people throughout specific moments in history. Tracy Cain, a local Canadian singer will sing Wade in the Water, a song that is often associated in reference to the Underground Railroad.

As a fifth generation Canadian, Cain said the song is special to her because several of her ancestors fled from slavery in the U.S., through the Underground Railroad and settled in North Buxton, St. Catharines and Fort Erie.

Cain thinks of her great-great-great grandfather Andrew Lucas who escaped from slavery in 1886 from Stonewall Jackson's plantation and settled in Brantford when she listens and sings to the song. 

"When I think of this song, I'm amazed and think about what he had to go through," she said. "My ancestors went through this, I'm living [and] breathing because of them."

Lainey Hayles, also known as Lainey Fab, is a certified English as a Second Language instructor and writer who'll perform an original spoken word piece titled We Will Rise.

Hayles said her performance will highlight messages of perseverance despite the negative background and history, as well as survival. She hopes her audience will capture a spirit of hope after her performance.

"I would like people to keep their heads up and to keep on having a good feeling," Hayles said. 

"I want people to feel a sense of progression in a good way and not let negativity keep a person or a society down."

'The celebration of freedom'

While Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States, Denise Francis, president of the Guelph Black Heritage Society said Canadians sees this as an opportunity to educate the community about Black independence and acknowledge that some slaves came to Canada for freedom.

"We are using this time as an education piece but also to entertain people, so that they realize that the ending of slavery is a significant event," Francis said.

Francis said it's important that Juneteenth is commemorated in Guelph as it was a community that formerly enslaved people settled in. 

"Juneteenth is the celebration of freedom and the freedom that people had when they came to our community," she said. "That's why we think it's important to celebrate."

Vassell-Bowen says commemorating the ending of slavery in Guelph should have significant meanings because Black slaves and ancestors have marked their path in the city. For example, the Guelph Black Heritage Society's building, formerly a church, served as a destination for Black slaves to escape to freedom in Canada. 

"[Juneteenth] should mean something for the rich heritage that Guelph has for people of Black descendents and Black ancestors," Vassell-Bowen said. 

Vassell-Bown also sees the value for Black children like her own to learn this part of their history and legacy. 

"It's important to understand the legacy of our lineage in this country, [it] started when some of those folks made that treacherous journey just to [have] freedom."

Likewise for Cain, she also sees value in teaching future generations of their history and Black independence. 

"I have four boys and it's really important for me that they understand and celebrate any moments that we can and understand our past and where we've come from," Cain said.

The Guelph Black Heritage Society will hold its annual Juneteenth celebration virtually June 19 at 7 p.m., and it's part of their initiative titled #ChangeStartsNow Anti-Racism Education.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.