2024 LAFAYETTE COUNTY JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION EVENTS
2024 Lafayette County Juneteenth “A LONG TIME COMING”
Friday, June 14, 2024 Higginsville Community Building at Fairground Park
Everyone is welcome!
8:30 am Flag Raising – Boy Scout Troop #415 Troop, National Anthem to be sung in unison. Special guests are summer school students from Lafayette County, MO.
9 am- 10:50 am Juneteenth Presents (Our New Program)
Our special guests who are from the area district summer school sessions have the opportunity to rotate through four educational presentations to further their knowledge and understanding of the importance of Juneteenth. They will hear from four dynamic speakers. Our morning speakers are Ray Anthony Shepard, Reverend Mary Williams, Chris Fritsche, and Dr. Joahn Hall. Our dynamic afternoon speakers are Carol Hannon and Ray Sutherland.
9 am Meet & Greet- Special time for introducing, sharing, and caring!
“People fear each other because they don’t know each other. They don’t know each other because they’ve not been properly introduced.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Invitees: Visit From Sheila Lee “Miss Ann Williams” enactor of Lexington, MO, proclamations, mayors, county officials, historic sites mangers, business owners, clubs, chambers of commerce, and those who are new to our community.
Douglass School Renovation Project – Higginsville, MO Travis Benton, Judy Linquist
History of Dover, MO and Waverly, MO and other settlements – Invited guests
Sunshine Social & Art Club’s - Sam Duncan Scholarship Fund Efforts- Reverend Evelyn Elmore
Special music
Vendors - Judi Knipmeyer, Le’Andrea Hannon-Lewis, Lawanna Nichols, Connie Powell
12:30 pm: Lafayette County People of Note - Carol Hannon - Afternoon with Lafayette County C-1 Summer School students
2:30 pm Voter Education – Jessica White – County Clerk Elect
4:30 pm Break/ Set up dinner
5:30 pm - 6:30 WELCOME DINNER (Pot of Luck)
This is one of our annual traditions used as a way to welcome our guest speaker and new and old friends who celebrate Juneteenth. The Foundation provides the meats (fried chicken, baked chicken, ham), drinks, and bread. We ask that you bring your favorite side dish and dessert.
6:45 pm Evening Program
Invocation - Reverend Dale Felder
Welcome – Master of Ceremonies - Reverend Brandon Lewis
Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” - Carol Hannon
The song was a hymn written as poem by NAACP leader, James Weldon Johnson 1871-1938) in 1900. It was set to music by his brother, J. Rosamund (1873-1954).
Special Music -Emerson Rankin and Elaina Rankin
Emerson graduated from St Paul Lutheran High School May 17 and plans to attend the University of Iowa majoring in Organ and Spanish. She has played the piano since she was 7 and started playing cello at age 10. She has also played the flute and started organ lessons 2 years ago when the Concordia Music Conservatory was started. She was part of the Singing Saints all 4 years of high school and enjoyed choir tours. She just recently got back from a 10-day trip to Spain with some of her classmates and her Spanish teacher.
Elaina will be a sophomore next year at St Paul. She also has been playing the piano since she was 7 and the flute since 5th grade. She loves to sing and was able to take voice lessons this past year with the Concordia Music Conservatory. She also started organ lessons. Elaina went to state music contest with two small singing groups and they both received a superior rating. They are the daughters of Allison and Matt Rankin.
Special acknowledgments
Freedom’s Plow - Reader’s Theatre — The Spoken Word of author, Langston Hughes(1902-1967). This will be a diverse group of volunteer readers that reflects the richness of America. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, MO. He was a writer of novels, poetry, and the newspaper.
Freedom's Plow is one of Hughes' poems. The poem has been described as a "hymn and a rallying cry for freedom." The group of readers includes Reverend Dale Felder, Doris Graham, Julia Hunter, Sheila Lee, Donna Owens, Linda Smith, Cindy Sause, Charlene Trout, and director, Reverend Liz Linsey.
There is an interesting relationship that the poem has with our town. A group of high school students from Lafayette County C-1 first performed it in 1971. Donna Owens and Linda Smith were part of that theater group. Donna Owens was asked to share her reflections from the 1971 performance.
"I was introduced to “Freedom’s Plow” by Langston Hughes while participating in a reader's theater for a speech and drama class during my senior year in high school here in Higginsville. Joan Dyer was the teacher for this class. I distinctly remember performing this reader's theater on the stage in the high school. My life experiences at that time were limited to our small town, my school activities, my church and the friends that I had through these associations. As time passes, I am profoundly grateful for these experiences and those people that enriched my life. I believe that the messages expressed through this poem; the value of all men, persistence when faced with obstacles, labor to achieve goals, freedom for all, and building America together, touched me in a way that I could not truly understand at that time. This message is just as relevant now for this generation as it was in the ’70’s. I saved this script with my class mementos and with it the names of all those who performed in that readers theater. Now, I am privileged to be part of this Juneteenth celebration and bring this message to another audience. “Keep Your Hand on The Plow! Hold On!” Donna (Rabius) Owens
Guest speaker “A Long Time Coming” - Ray Anthony Shepard, Historian, Scholar, Author
Ray Anthony Shepard is a grandson of a slave, a former teacher, and retired editor- in-chief of a major education publishing company. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Education and the Harvard Graduate School of Education where he received a Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Now retired, he is dedicated to a new “personal chapter” for himself as an author, specializing in chronicling the little-known facts of the Black experience in the United States.
“I write to provide readers of any age, especially secondary school students, with a fuller view of American slavery and a corrective history of the struggle and anguish of courageous individuals who sought to pursue full American citizenship.”
–Ray Anthony Shepard
Announcements – Linda Smith
Benediction - Reverend Everett Hannon, Jr.
Book Sale & Book Signing with Ray Anthony Shepard
Venders —Some vendors will be selling their wares on 10 am Saturday morning at the Higginsville Community Building in Fairground Park.
Saturday, June 15, 2024 Grace United Methodist Church – 16 West 15th St., Higginsville, MO - Reverend Julie Sanders, pastor
The Mission Statement of the Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation
Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation Mission statement is to develop and implement a one-day festival that promotes the celebration of family, celebrates African American freedom, and cultivates mutual involvement of social service entities, and economic participation of the county-wide business community.
The Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation is a non-profit organization.
We Remember You
We recognize the passing of two great friends of the Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation. We remember them tonight and gain strength in their support and participation in our Juneteenth celebrations.
Shirley Ann Hollins (Hannon)
December 2, 1936 - May 25, 202
Since 2006, Shirley had a long-term relationship with the Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation. She stated with her friends, Mable Hawkins and Marjorie Hannon. Walter Mayberry made sure that Shirley and other Odessa volunteers had rides to the meetings that were held in Lexington, MO. After she joined the Juneteenth Commitee, she was a faithful worker, a great cheerleader and encourager. She helped to get volunteers and worked to help organize a Juneteenth fundraiser in Odessa, MO. The event was held to increase awareness and support for black cemeteries.
Margaret L. Harlan, Ph.D.
March 6, 1931 - November 3, 2023
We traveled to Sedalia, MO in 2019 and met Marge at the Rose Nolen Black History Library that she and her spouse started. Ray Anthony Shepard and family joined us for this tour. It was a beautiful facility and Marge and her daughter; Brooke welcomed us on our tour of the facility. Marge also had a garden and slave cabin on the grounds. It was the slave cabin which launched Marge into the national news realm. She bravely fought some streams of negativity. The library closed in later years.
Two great advocates for freedom and both witnessed the passage of Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
10 am - 12:30 pm Unity in Community: “Make A Joyful Sound” - A Community Sing-along of songs from the Civil Rights Movement - Carol Hannon
“History of the Methodist Church and the Civil Rights Movement– Reverend Julie Sanders. Come learn about the part that the United Methodist Church played during the Civil Rights movement.
The African Connection – Volunteers who serve as missionaries to Uganda - -Judi Knipmeyer & Family
Shop at the African Market place
Fifteen years ago, two young men, Jonathan Ssebambulide a Ugandan, and Michael Warneke, a US citizen, met in Uganda when the latter was serving with a mission organization, Sweet Sleep. As they sat and became acquainted, they both dreamed of a better world for Uganda’s children. Following years of civil war, AIDS, and malaria, the average age for the entire population was 15. Many children were orphaned; nearly all were vulnerable. With much prayer and the help of countless friends, Fields of Dreams Uganda (FoDU) was born from those aspirations in 2012 with the mission to provide hope for the orphaned and vulnerable children of Uganda through the vehicles of soccer and education. FoDU’s ultimate objective was and is to help increase the opportunities for the children they serve — and they believe the best way to do that is through education.
In 2018, Judi Knipmeyer traveled to Uganda for the first time with her daughter, Jessica Knipmeyer Keltner and son, Aaron Knipmeyer. Her intent was to see the programming her family had supported for a few years and enjoy the experience with her adult children. Instead, she found a new family and a passion for the work of Fields of Dreams Uganda. FoDU currently serves nine partner schools, providing educational support for around 5500 children. This assistance includes scholarships, hygiene kits, tutoring, IT instruction, soccer coaching, character education, career planning, and much more. All of this is done by Ugandans for Ugandans - they have only one US employee who coordinates fund-raising and staff development for the 50 people employed in-country.
Judi will be making her seventh trip to Uganda in July, traveling with her daughter and granddaughter, Marie. She will be sharing the story of FoDU and the Ugandan people and country she has come to love at the Community Building during the Juneteenth celebration on June 15th, 2024. It is a story of hope, love, and the gracious people of Uganda. We hope you will join us.
Lunch Sponsored by The First Presbyterian Church.
Please join us for the last of Saturday’s events.
Higginsville Community Building at Fairground Park
3 pm – 5pm Saturday Fish Fry - Donation for the meal
Rowan Haynes has volunteered to fry the fish.
Video
Tribute to Elders – It is the African tradition to give honor to our elders.
Open mic for poets, musicians, family talent acts- Contact Linda Smith at 816-456-6654 if you want to participate.
Vendors, African Market Place
2025 Juneteenth will be 20-year anniversary - How will you help us celebrate?
Announcements
Sunday, June 16, 2024 ALL ACTIVITIES TODAY ARE IN LEXINGTON, MO
11 AM Service - Second Baptist Church 1201 Main Street, Lexington, MO
Lunch at the Church
2 pm - The Lex 11th and Franklin, Lexington, MO Free Juneteenth Gospel Festival – sponsored by Minutemen Pride/Lafayette Juneteenth Foundation. Freewill Donations accepted for Chris Banks Memorial Scholarship Fund. Allan Lee is the coordinator.
The Lafayette County Juneteeth Foundation members thank you all for helping us to make this year's celebration a success. We can only go far with supportive friends and partners.
Foundation Members
Arron Haynes, president; Sheila Lee, vice-president; Carol Hannon, secretary; Linda Smith, Treasurer and Education; Deborah May, Ron Miller, Sadie Miller, Reverend Dale Felder, Reverend Everett Hannon, Jr., Reverend Liz Linsey, Fred Smith, Reverend Mary Williams, Evelyn Trigg, James Watkins, Everett Williams
The Mission Statement of the Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation
Lafayette County Juneteenth Foundation Mission statement is to develop and implement a one-day festival that promotes the celebration of family, celebrates African American freedom, and cultivates mutual involvement of social service entities, and economic participation of the county-wide business community.
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