It's Kinda Hard to Lift Every Voice Singing

We who live here speak often about the history of Norwich and our downtown architecture and there's certainly a lot of both but I believe we shortchange ourselves when we don't highlight the richness and variety of the backgrounds of those who live and work here. 

One of the important benefits (in my opinion) of the various celebrations we have in and around City Hall, many organized by Global City Norwich, that highlight the diversity, equity, and inclusion reflected on our streets and across our neighborhoods, is they help us share the stories we not only tell about ourselves but also better help us realize we are those stories (and so many more).

Today, Wednesday is Flag Day, which in light of the number of flag raisings we do here annually seems very appropriate to mention. Flag Day commemorates this date in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the design of our first national flag. 

Both our nation and the flag it represents have changed in these last two hundred and forty-six years, (some have suggested far too much while others feel it's not nearly enough) but our flag should always serve as a reminder of all we could and should be, of how far we've come and yet how much farther we have yet to travel towards that more perfect union.     

Later this week, Friday morning at eleven at the David Ruggles Memorial Freedom Courtyard is an even better moment to pause and ponder the state of our country and the notion of our nation. It's the 34th Juneteenth Commemoration Ceremony and Flag Raising sponsored by the NAACP Norwich Branch and Global City Norwich and marks the 158th anniversary of  Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. 

The name, Juneteenth, combines "June" and "nineteenth", and is the anniversary of the order issued by the Union Army's Major General Gordon Granger, on the morning of  June 19, 1865, by the Union Army's Major General Gordon Granger who'd arrived on the island of Galveston, Texas to enforce the emancipation of its slaves and oversee Reconstruction. The order proclaimed freedom for slaves in Texas in the aftermath of the surrender of the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi.

Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.

Here in Norwich, there will be ceremonies and presentations to mark Juneteenth including The Daniel Jenkins Memorial Award, which will be presented to Artreach, Inc. for their commitment and dedication to raising awareness of mental health issues and continuing the fight to end the stigma of mental illness. 

The Daniel Jenkins Memorial Award is given to honor the late Lieutenant Daniel Jenkins of the Norwich Police Department who was the Chairperson of the first Juneteenth Day Parade and Celebration held in Norwich in 1989. 

As part of the Juneteenth observances, Global City Norwich is promoting Black Owned Businesses in the Greater Norwich Area with a Virtual Black Owned Business Expo. 

In a city with nearly forty thousand stories to share, and in a world sometimes with too many voices that make us feel weak and alone, Juneteenth is another opportunity to celebrate the strength and unity that each of us brings to this place we call home.    
-bill kenny