Norwood: Bronx Community Charter School Celebrates Juneteenth at the Oval

By MIRIAM QUIÑONES

MOM AND RAFFLE winner of a $20 gift card from Starbucks, Maria Ruiz, along with Miavonna and Lillian Billings, students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, attend a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school and held in the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx on June 20, 2022.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Bronx Community Charter School held a Juneteenth celebration in the Williamsbridge Oval in Norwood on Monday, June 20, to commemorate what is now an official national holiday. Drawing a crowd of about 180 local community residents, around 121 students of the school participated in a number of activities to mark the public holiday.

LOCALS GATHER AROUND students from Bronx Community Charter School, located at at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, to hear the beat of the drums during a drumming session, part of a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school held in the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Monday, June 20, 2022.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Juneteenth, which falls annually on June 19, marks the anniversary of the day federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to announce that all enslaved people were free. Coming two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it is recognized as the effective end of slavery in the United States.

It is widely considered the longest-running African American holiday and had long been celebrated every year among the Black community. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth was officially designated as a federal holiday by President Joe Biden.

STUDENTS AT BRONX Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, make buttons during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school and held in the Williamsbridge Oval, located in the Norwood section of The Bronx on June 20, 2022.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

As reported, on Juneteenth 2020, former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, announced that Juneteenth would become an official City and school holiday. He also announced additional steps the City was taking to address disparities and structural racism that he said had been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the creation of a new commission to understand the effects of structural and institutional racism in New York City.

A STUDENT AT Bronx Community Charter School, located at at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, makes a custom shirt, using bleach mixed with water during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school and held on June 20, 2022 in the Williamsbridge Oval, located in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

The Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission (RRC) was established to promote social learning, collective introspection, and policy action. In addition, the Commission was launched to create a historical record of racial discrimination, with an emphasis on housing, criminal justice, environmental racism and public health disparity.

ONE OF THE students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, is lost in a book as she sits on a beanbag during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school and held on June 20, 2022 in the Williamsbridge Oval, located in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

As also reported, Mayor Eric Adams designated Juneteenth a paid New York City holiday for the first time this year. In a statement on April 11, he said, “As the second Black mayor of New York City, I know that I stand on the shoulders of countless heroes and sheroes who put their lives on the line to secure a more perfect union. Now is the time for me to do a small part and recognize one of our nation’s greatest wrongs.”

A TABLE IS set up with amazing books with a focus on the Black experience for students of Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, to read during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school and held on June 20, 2022 in the Williamsbridge Oval, located in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Adams continued, “Juneteenth is a time for reflection, assessment, and self-improvement. People across the country of all races, nationalities, and religions unite on this day to truthfully acknowledge the stain of slavery and celebrate the countless contributions of Black Americans. It’s time for our city to finally do what’s right and officially designate Juneteenth as a city holiday. This decision is long overdue, which is why it will immediately take effect this year.”

SOME OF THE 7th and 8th graders at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, participate in a drumming session during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school on June 20, 2022 at the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Meanwhile, a Bronx Community Charter School representative told Norwood News of the June 20 event this year at the Oval, “At our school, we place a huge emphasis on social justice, and it was important that we honor Juneteenth since it has recently become a public federal holiday.”

The school official continued, “These kinds of events demonstrate the ways that we value justice for all, and work really hard to celebrate the history of enslaved Black people in America.”

SOME STUDENTS OF Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, sit and read some books they found interesting during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school held on June 20, 2022 at the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Bronx Community Charter School is a public charter school, serving kids from K through Grade 8 and is based on the corner of 205th Street and Webster Avenue in Norwood. The Juneteenth celebration was the school’s first major outdoor event since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and school representatives said it was a success.

A STUDENT AT Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood participates in a drumming session during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school on June 20, 2022 at the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

The 121 students who showed up on the day represented more than a quarter of the entire school population, demonstrating the importance of the occasion for students.

The event organizers were Kemi Williams, director of diversity, equity, and inclusion; Khalid Hill, dance teacher, and Dawn Campbell, 1st grade teacher. All three are steering committee planners of the social justice committee at Bronx Community Charter School.

STUDENTS FROM THE 7th and 8th grades at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, participate in a drumming session during a Juneteenth celebration organized by the school on June 20, 2022 in the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx.
Photos by Miriam Quinones

Some of the activities on the day included reading from a selection of specially curated books with a special focus on Black history and the Black Experience.

There was also face-painting, a drumming session, themed T-shirt printing and button-making, as well as a raffle.

In 2017, Norwood News reported on some of the inspirational artwork made using stencils by the students at Bronx Community Charter School. In 2019, as reported, the school asked its students to ponder the question, “What Does Norwood Mean to You?“

Last month, students at the school took to the streets during Gun Violence Awareness Month to make their voices heard in response to the mass shootings which had taken place in Buffalo, California and Texas, and to call on elected officials to make legislative changes around gun safety.

AYLIN AND ARIADNE, students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood, try out some drumming during a Juneteenth celebration held in the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx on June 20, 2022.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

Last year, Norwood News reported on the consecration of the ancient burial ground in Van Cortlandt Park which coincided with Juneteenth. In 2020, as reported, the holiday took on even more special significance for the Black community in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, and later with a host of other celebratory events.

Among many other citywide events marking Juneteenth this year, as reported, was another local celebration in the Northwest Bronx. Riverdale Sunday Market, located at 4545 Independent Avenue by the Riverdale temple, became the venue for a special Juneteenth celebration, hosted by District 11 City Councilman Eric Dinowitz, who also represents Norwood.

SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS, 8th Graders, Mwenya Diabate and Hawaou Diallo, students at Bronx Community Charter School, located at 3170 Webster Avenue in Norwood give a recitation during a Juneteenth celebration held in the Williamsbridge Oval in the Norwood section of The Bronx on June 20, 2022.
Photo by Miriam Quiñones

The City website NYC Go provides resources for those wishing to learn more about Black culture and the Black Experience in New York City. For more information, click here.

A number of other citywide events highlighting Black Excellence can be found on eventbrite.

For more information about Bronx Community Charter School, click here.

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.