‘Blackness of All Kinds’ Celebrated at Second Mackinac Island Juneteenth Gathering

Robin Kissinger (from left), Michael “DJ Mike” Williford, Deshaun Gloss, Alexa Miller, Ben Horn, and Dexter Horn enjoy the Island’s second Juneteenth celebration. The event was organized by Mr. Gloss and Ms. Miller. MCKENNA JOHNSON / MACKINAC ISLAND TOWN CRIER

The pavilion at Great Turtle Park was filled with laughter, music, food, conversation, and card games Saturday, June 17, as Island residents, family, guests, and visitors participated in the second annual Juneteenth celebration. Organized by Deshaun Gloss and Alexa Miller, the event celebrated African American culture, unity, and history in an uplifting and inclusive atmosphere.

Juneteenth was first recognized as a national holiday in 2021. It celebrates the day on which the last enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued his emancipation proclamation.

“One thing I love about the Island is everybody celebrates with each other,” Mr. Gloss said.

It’s important to celebrate the Island’s diversity and honor the tradition of Juneteenth. He said a celebration like this was something that many people talked about for years, until it finally came to fruition.

A lot of bike riding goes into planning the event, Mr. Gloss said, in addition to the planning and organizing, getting food together, and gathering the games, art supplies, and prizes for the kids.

Alexa Miller and her father, Scott Lewis, play cards at the Great Turtle Park pavilion that was filled with good food, laughter, music, and conversation during the Second Annual Mackinac Island Juneteenth Celebration.

The event included food that celebrates African American cuisine, including pulled pork, ribs, and two different kinds of macaroni and cheese. The celebration received support from different Island businesses, including Cannonball Oasis and Doud’s Market. Ms. Miller and Mr. Gloss said they’re grateful for the support from the community.

“We have some really wonderful allies,” Ms. Miller said, recounting different groups of people and friends who stepped up to support Black Lives Matter gatherings in 2020.

Even though the event fell during the Lilac Festival this year, they saw it as an opportunity for locals to escape the crowded downtown for a celebration in Great Turtle Park instead. St. Ignace resident Michael Williford of Northern Entertainment Consultants provided the music.

There were also several activities for visitors to enjoy, including arts and crafts, a toy axe throwing set, Legos, and toy helicopter for the kids. Prizes were also offered. People enjoyed the camaraderie, laughing, and good conversation the most throughout the afternoon.

Ava Lewis, visiting her sister Alexa Miller of Mackinac Island, paints a canvas at the arts and crafts table. “I am a social butterfly,” she said, “so I like this.”

Deanne Chadinha of Texas and Seanne Thomas and Dennis Thomas III of Minnesota were visiting the Island when they met Mr. Gloss while stopping for coffee. He invited them to the park for the celebration. They didn’t expect to join a Juneteenth celebration on Mackinac, and they were surprised by the diversity they found.

“That was the last thing I expected: to bump into a Juneteenth celebration on the Island,” said Mrs. Thomas.

Robin Kissinger of St. Ignace also attended the celebration, even missing the U.P. All Star Basketball games that were held at LaSalle High School; he serves as an assistant coach for the Saints basketball program.

“But this is a different celebration,” he said.

Mr. Kissinger, after talking with Mr. Williford, discussed how even having grown up in all-Black areas of cities, Juneteenth wasn’t talked about or studied. Instead, it was glossed over, like other important movements, including the impact of the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement.

“Harriet Tubman was famous for going back to the South, after people were still living on plantations and telling them, ‘You’re not slaves anymore,’” Mr. Kissinger said. “So, I think it’s important for these guys, for young people, for the kids, for them to know their history . . . It’s important to celebrate together, to see all of our shades of Blackness, and appreciate that.”

As an artist and a poet, Mr. Kissinger said his poetry has focused a lot on the pain of the past, but now that people are celebrating – such as Juneteenth – he is coming to focus more on the positive, even if it has been a challenge to break the cycle of negative reinforcement. He hopes that one day everyone can live in a society where people are judged on merits and not skin color or gender.

“We’ve been talking about that for many, many, many, many years, and we’re still not there,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do.”

Ms. Miller’s family also came to visit the Island for the celebration. Her dad, Scott Lewis, came to help cook. It was the first time he was able to come for the event and he enjoyed the experience.

“The whole idea of Juneteenth and coming to help and be a part of it all, it was just fun,” said Mr. Lewis. “It really just felt good to be able to come and participate.”

For him, celebrating Juneteenth is about family and the environment, getting to gather, and seeing everybody’s smiles. Ms. Miller’s 14-year-old sister, Ava Lewis, also enjoyed the event, spending time at the crafts table and running around with the kids.

While Juneteenth may be a newly recognized federal holiday, Ms. Miller and Mr. Gloss appeared to have no struggle with the celebration gaining traction, making for a joyful afternoon full of friends, family, and unity.

“I’m glad to see smiles on faces and people saying they enjoy it,” Mr. Lewis said, smiling while talking with his kids about cooking for the event. “And it actually feels good to do that every once in a while, doesn’t it?”