Norwood's First Annual Juneteenth Celebration Draws Hundreds

NORWOOD, MA - Norwood's Town Common was exuberant Saturday afternoon as more than 300 people celebrated the town's first annual Juneteenth event with song, dance, spoken word performances and awards.

The celebration was organized by Geoffrey Baguma, a Norwood police officer. After participating in area Juneteenth celebrations in Canton and Walpole over the past two years, he decided that the town needed to celebrate this holiday which recognizes the anniversary of the end of the enslavement of Black people in 1865. He worked on creating the Norwood Juneteenth Committee, which worked on the event's logistics.

Baguma said he wanted to create an event "to overwhelm the senses," and it did not disappoint. Storytelling and spoken word performances continually alternated with dance performance troupes, singers and rap artists to create a powerful spectrum of activities highlighting aspects of Black culture.

The event also showcased several local Black-owned businesses, including Emerald City Plant Shop, Restorative Massages and Wellness, Imperial Perfumery Boutique and Got Styles Hair Salon.

Britney Owens from Emerald City said the event had personal significance for her.

"Today is Norwood's first Juneteenth, and we are New England's first Black-owned plant shop," she explained. "I see a beautiful correlation in that. I feel like it's a new beginning for the African American community in New England and in Norwood."

She was excited to see so many people came out to celebrate on a gorgeous sunny Saturday.

"This is what it's all about, just getting together to have fun," Owens added. "There are so many great vendors and information tables and performers."

One of the most powerful moments was when the Coakley Middle School Honor Chorus sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is considered to be the Black national anthem.

In between performances, the common reverberated with jams from Lizzo to Bruno Mars.

Selectman Amanda Grow staffed an information table on Town Meeting information. She saw the event as an opportunity to connect with people of color and let them know their input is critical in making town decisions more inclusive.

"I was really excited to see that Norwood was going to have a Juneteenth celebration, and I wanted to help," she said.

Grow offered to do a reading or sing, but the committee embraced the idea of an information table to engage residents about the Town Meeting process.

"I want Town Meeting to be representative of the makeup of Norwood," she stressed, as mainly white people who have lived in town tend to participate. "What we find is there's tons of vacant seats where nobody runs, and they don't even realize that there are vacant seats they could be running for.

"Instead of passively sitting back and waiting for people to come to us, I thought I would come to the community and actively recruit," Grow, a member of the League of Women Voters, continued. "This event is an opportunity to say, 'Hey, we want the voices of your community at Town Meeting.' Town Meeting works the best when we have people of all different backgrounds, all different skill sets. Everybody's background is valuable and important."

More diverse representation can change the scope of town policy and budget articles, she noted. She made up a scannable sheet to remind people as well as a "pledge jar" to hold contact information for people who expressed interest.

General Manager Tony Mazzucco said he was happy about the turnout, especially for a first-time event.

"I know Geoff [Baguma] was a little nervous because there weren't a lot of people when it started," he explained. "And I told him that, in Norwood, nothing ever starts on time. We are very European and Mediterranean in that sense.

"But all of the credit for this really goes to him," he continued. "He's the one who came up with the idea and really put it all together, with some help, of course."

John Grove from the Old Parish Preservation Volunteers came because there is an interesting parallel between Juneteenth and an event he is coordinating on July 4 - the reading of Frederick Douglass's July 5, 1852 speech, entitled "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" It will be recited at the grave site of abolitionist and Unitarian minister Rev. Edwin Thompson, a Norwood resident who was a friend and colleague of Douglass.

"While Juneteenth is a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, our event is the celebration of Frederick Douglass and his leadership," he said, noting this is the third year the group has performed the reading.

Local realtor Sophia Ricci gave away motivational bracelets and bookmarks.

"Geoffrey and I were talking, and he said, 'I don't want it to be about the struggle," she said. "I want it to be about the win,'" she said. "It's about growth and positivity. It's more about the future than the past."