Scotch Plains Juneteenth Event To Be Held At 1st Black-Owned Golf Club

SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD, NJ — In honor of Juneteenth coming up, Scotch Plains and Fanwood are hosting a big celebration, with activities for all ages, as well as talented performers.

Social Justice Matters Inc. is spearheading the events on Saturday, June 18, from 1 to 8 p.m. at the historic Shady Rest — the nation's first Black-owned golf and country club. The celebration is free and open to all to attend.

The event is catered for people of all ages and will include carnival games, mini-golf, a putting contest with prizes, food trucks, giant bubbles, sidewalk chalk, giant four-square and more.

The celebration will feature a broad range of performers. See below:

• DJ Oakie E will perform house music infused with R&B and funk to local activities, parties, gatherings, local establishments and community events across New Jersey. He is a set DJ on WBKS1 in Plainfield, among other radio spots. 2-6 pm.
• JumpKids’ team of five Double Dutch jumpers, guided by JumpKids founder and CEO Laila Little-Omosawe, will perform an exhibition and offer participatory instruction. Little-Omosawe from Lifetime's docu-series Jump, has been internationally known in the sport of Double Dutch for more than 25 years. She is also the co-founder of the world-renowned FloydLittle’s Double Dutch, where she earned her name "The Double Dutch Queen." 3-3:45 pm
• Young author Rayna Wyatt, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 1, will share her story and read from her recently published book, I am Princess Rayna. Through this book and more to come in her newly launched series, Rayna Explains it All, Her Way, she will discuss her experiences, adventures and adversities living with the condition. 3:45 pm.
• FACE Corp./Goshu Kwan Temple will put on martial arts demonstration. The studio provides martial arts, fitness, life skills, recreational and other programs in family-oriented environments. 5-5:20 pm.
• Amani, a six-musician group, will perform an eclectic mix from the Black experience, including gospel, blues, jazz and R&B. Amani means “peace” in Swahili, and the group was formed to share the concept of peace through music. 6-7:30 pm. Local students will also play a role throughout the celebration.
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood Black Student Union (BSU) members will present a brief history of Juneteenth and the contributions of the late Tuskegee airman and Scotch Plains resident Malcolm E. Nettingham at the opening ceremony. Later, they will help run carnival games and paint faces.
• Volunteers from Mount Saint Mary Academy's Students of Color Alliance Group will take charge of the giant bubbles event.

SJM Juneteenth 2022 Committee Co-Chairs Tashira Wheeler and Michelle Burwell note that local elementary school students have been working on freedom quilt squares, which will be sewn together for a Juneteenth quilt to be given to the Board of Education.

The festivities also will feature family collage workshops with Mansa Mussa at 2 and 4 pm and Shady Rest Tours at 4 and 5 p.m. — the only events that require registration.

Additional information, including signup for those interested in volunteering at the event, is available on the website as well.

The event is supported in part by funding through a Union County HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant and sponsorship from PSE&G.

Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War ended and that the enslaved were free — two-and-a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the United States that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people.

The Shady Rest Golf and Country Club is located at 820 Jerusalem Road in Scotch Plains.