Photos and Video
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

WARSAW  — Marsha Cook, Joe Banks and Karlise and Shawn Stephens received community awards at the second annual Juneteenth Celebrate Freedom event Saturday, June 11, at Center Lake Pavilion.

Cook an elementary teacher, was recognized for opening the way for more diversity in the school system and Banks was recognized for being an instrumental part of the Juneteenth Celebration.

Joe Banks was among four people honored with a Community Award at the Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 11. From left are Sara Strahan, One Warsaw; Banks; and Suzette Clayton and Karen Erba, One Warsaw.

The African Business Leaders for Excellence presented awards to the Stephenses for their 34 and 35 years, respectively, at Zimmer/Biomet. PJ Harding, representative of A.B.L.E., noted both retired this year and have been admired for the accomplishments, love for each other and living life to the fullest.

The evening had two guest speakers, David Neff from the Kosciusko Senior Center, and Lakesha Green, executive director of Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts.

Green, who was raised in Montgomery, Ala., said it was because of her great-great-grandmother and great-grandmother she is able to stand in the community of Warsaw. She spoke of her great-great-grandmother, who had been a slave. Her great-great-grandmother reminded her at the age of 6, “’You are my why,’ as she didn’t have the opportunity or was allowed to learn to count.” She also heard her great-great-great-grandmother tell her she was going to walk into many rooms and not everybody was going to look like her. Green said she wouldn’t understand all her grandmother told her until she was an adult.

The last words from her great-great-grandmother were to “inspire and understand whose you are. Somebody is always going to try to tell you who you are, but you wouldn’t be who are if not for whose you are.”

Green is the first female executive director for Wagon Wheel and the first African American. “That’s a lot. That’s a big deal,” she said.

Paul Hardy Jr., A.B.L.E. representative, left, presented Karlise and Shawn Stephens with a community award for their 35 and 34 years at Zimmer/Biomet. On the right are other members of A.B.L.E. Chris Cephus, Norris Taylor and Robert Kinchen.

“I’m excited about being a part of the celebration … all the work that has been put into this community … being a part and understand the journey they talked about. I know who I am … who I’m going to affect … be good stewards, support beyond Juneteenth … didn’t understand until I left home.” She talked of sitting around the table with many great ladies such as Rosa Parks, who to her were just nice ladies.

She concluded with what her great-great-grandmother told her. “’Don’t take my pain … I was able to endure and pass it along. I took the pain for you … so you can continue to know whose you are.’”

Neff spoke briefly about the services and ways to volunteer and help honor those who came before at the senior center. However he “broke from the script,” stressing the zero tolerance for hate and the responsibility for not being complacent and to call people out. He encouraged people to not stay in a conversation involving hate, challenging people to break through the barriers and break open doors.

Lakesha Green, executive director of Wagon Wheel for the Arts, was one of the speakers at the Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 11.

He related a story involving a gentleman, Purnell, who years ago came to him and inquired about the bathrooms at Pike Lake being locked at night. It was learned he had been evicted and planned to stay in the park. Neff and others worked to get him into an apartment, get him “new ears,” glasses and dental work. At the age of 73 this man is getting his GED and is an inspiration to others. “We can make a difference by taking that first step and following through.”

Additionally the evening included the history of Juneteenth, given by Banks, and drumming provided by Omotayo Rite of Passage from Fort Wayne. Diane Rogers, founder of Omotayo, also spoke to the approximately 75 in attendance. “We are all human,” she said, encouraging people to spend time doing things from the heart with genuine intention that will change things around us.

The signature song of Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day and now Juneteenth, which has been sung across the country, “Lift Every Voice And Sing,” a poem written by James Johnson and committed to music by John Johnson in 1899, opened the event. Closing the evening was the well-known gospel song “We Shall Overcome,” with Charles Cotton accompanying the music on his saxophone.

Juneteenth’s Celebration of Freedom was hosted by One Warsaw, ABLE, TranStar, Bill and Vicki Morton and Wise.