Juneteenth in Acton: Music, dance, and a celebration of freedom
The celebration featured a flag raising in Monument Square, music and dance, food and drink, and a spirit of community.
For Robbins House co-President Nikki Turpin, Juneteenth observances are bittersweet.
During Acton’s multifaceted celebration this week, she called the historic event “a mixed moment of joy, because it’s that moment that everyone knew that they were free, but also a marker that there’s still freedom to be had for people … freedom within the spaces you live, freedom to be who you are, how you live, who you love — all of those things.”
This June 19 marked 160 years since the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, became the last in the U.S. to learn they had been emancipated. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
The town’s celebrations, which started with the Juneteenth flag raising in Monument Square, included music and dance, food and drink, and, above all, a spirit of community.
Gathering in peace
Midmorning, the Acton Museum hosted an interactive West African dance performance featuring Ammaya Dance & Drum.
Before the event started, the drummers were already playing, and the dancers distributed shakers so kids and adults could play along.
“Let’s celebrate Africa,” said Tara Murphy, the troupe’s director.
Dressed in traditional colorful West African garb, the group played music predominantly from Guinea and Mali.
Audience members were invited to dance and, at one point, to join in and play a large African drum called a djembe, whose name originates from the fitting phrase “everyone gather together in peace.”
Murphy emphasized the importance of recognizing and celebrating African culture and its influence in the U.S. For her, dancing is an expression of freedom.
To conclude the performance, the group sang “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind Stayed On Freedom),” a song that gained prominence during the Civil Rights Movement.
‘A unique story’
The Robbins House, marking its third Juneteenth observance, hosted an early afternoon lawn gathering with food trucks and live music. Visitors gathered in the shade with cold beverages as temperatures soared.
“The first year,” Executive Director Jen Turner said, “we probably had around 100 [attendees], which is great. But with the number of people here now and throughout the afternoon, we’ll probably get double that. It’s nice that people have really embraced Juneteenth and the celebrations in the community.”
The Robbins House, she said, “tells such a unique story to Acton, but it’s nice to have a celebration that clearly talks about the diverse history that we talk about and interpret all the time.”
Next year, Turpin wants to expand the celebration to include an art element.
“Robbins House is such a treasure,” said Acton resident Pat Brewer. Of the town’s celebration overall, she added, “Hopefully, next year it will be even bigger, and it’ll just keep growing,”
Other events included a Patriots of Color Walking Tour led by Joe Palumbo, local tour guide and co-president of The Robbins House, as well as the first in a series of Historic Happy Hours at the Acton Museum, where attendees learned about local Black history while sipping wine or beer.
Turpin said organizers initially planned a more somber observance, but “that’s not what it means. It’s just happiness. So let’s have music. Let’s have food. Let’s just bring the town over and hang out, grab chairs, bring your family. And it’s grown every year.”
