BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Marches and vigils took place around northern New England on Friday to mark Juneteenth, the day when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free 155 years ago and amid growing support for the racial justice movement.
In Vermont, the first state to abolish adult slavery in 1777, criminal defense attorneys marched in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in separate events in Burlington and Bennington to call for an end to discrimination in the criminal justice system.
A group of about 60 in Burlington started at one courthouse and marched down one lane of Main Street, chanting and holding signs, before ending on a patio outside the criminal courthouse. There, they laid prone with their hands behind their backs for eight minutes, marking about the time that a Minneapolis police office had his knee pressed into the neck of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving. His death has sparked mass protests nationally and worldwide.
Then, a handful spoke about their experiences with police and in the courts and what they can do to help stop police brutality and racial discrimination.
“We need to do better,” said Marcus Marena, a public defender investigator. “When this movement runs out of steam we need to keep going. As an investigator, we have to continue to fight and push our attorneys for what’s right, and fight for our clients, especially for our clients of color. So please don’t stop fighting.”
Talking about Juneteenth at a news conference Friday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said he and many others haven’t always reflected “on the magnitude of this day” as they would other anniversaries and days of remembrance on the calendar.
“The fact is this says a lot about how much more work we need to do to have a better understanding of what implicit bias or systemic racism even means and the inequality that still exist in America or the role that each of us plays in order to change it,” he said.
Xusana Davis, the state’s director of racial equity, encouraged white Vermonters to act in ways that help “make things more equitable for everyone.” It can start, she said, by working to understand Juneteenth and other cultural holidays.
“Lower your guard and open your eyes,” she said. “Understand if you are told about your privilege, you don’t have to be defensive about it. You don’t have to be ashamed for not knowing that Juneteenth existed … It’s not about the shame of not knowing. It’s not about the hurt and discomfort of that history. It’s about what are we going to do with the knowledge today so we don’t repeat that history.”
In Maine, Juneteenth events were planned from Caribou to Kennebunk.
In Portland, hundreds gathered outside City Hall before marching to Deering Oaks, where they heard from speakers about their experiences with racism.
Participants were thrilled with the turnout.
“It just means celebration. It means to be bringing family together, celebrating who we are as people. At the end of the day, we all need love,” Shakeera Abdul told WMTW.
In 2011, Maine became the 38th state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.
In New Hampshire, a march was planned in Keene and a celebration in Manchester included speakers, hip hop artists, and a scavenger hunt that tied African-American inventions to locations around the city.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, issued a statement calling for Juneteenth to be recognized as a national holiday.
“The abolition of slavery is one of the most profound and consequential developments in American history,” she said. “This moment should be recognized with a national holiday that encourages every American to celebrate freedom, honor the heroes who fought for abolition, reflect on slavery’s legacy, and recommit to confronting the systemic racism that still exists in our society. “
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AP reporters Michael Casey and Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H. and David Sharp in Portland, Maine contributed to this report.
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