'Supporting the truth is monumental': Tulsans celebrate unity, freedom at Juneteenth festival

Tulsans of all demographics gathered on Greenwood Avenue to celebrate the holiday honoring the end of slavery in the United States. And both lifelong Tulsans and new residents said the celebration in Greenwood showed how important it is for people to come together.

Angel Okolie, a current student at the University of Tulsa, attended the festival carrying a painting he made of George Floyd containing the words  "equality" and "Black lives matter" written around his face sprawled over a background of different shades of brown, tan and white.

He said he was inspired by all the events that took place after Floyd's death, and the painting's background represents unity of all races.

Okolie said the festival was one of the first Tulsa events he's gone to, and he saw the unity that inspired his painting in action. He said it was amazing to see so many different people come together and celebrate Juneteenth.

"Nobody is worrying about their bills, and if you don't have to worry about your bills for a day, that's a good day," he said. "That's the good thing about Juneteenth. You forget about everything you feel like you have to do and just live life. It refreshes you."

Okolie also said the festival is important for the community in and around Greenwood because it puts a spotlight on the local businesses.

"There's a lot of things out here I didn't even know were in Tulsa," Okolie said. "It gives more opportunity for businesses to be occupied, for people to have jobs. The only thing keeping these businesses from getting big is not having a spotlight, but right here, right now, we're making our own spotlight."

Robin Stewart, originally from Oklahoma City, said she never heard about events like Juneteenth or the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre as a child.

"Now that all that has been brought to light, us as a people — and all people — can come together (to) embrace the truth and celebrate the fact that we can be united," Stewart said. "Truth is important. Being here tonight is a reflection of how we've all come together to support one another."

Stewart said she enjoyed the experience of seeing people supporting each other at the festival.

For Tulsa native Casandra Celestain, Juneteenth celebrations have been a yearly occurrence since she was old enough to remember, and this year was no different.

"I wanted to be around like-minded people and just celebrate," Celestain said. "It's just a good atmosphere."

Stewart and Celestain said they are also celebrating Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, making Juneteenth the 11th federal holiday, and the first new designation signed into law since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

"I'm excited, because the last federal holiday was Martin Luther King," Stewart said. "(Biden), as our leader, bringing that into view and supporting not only us as a people, but supporting the truth is monumental."

For some, Juneteenth's federal holiday status is a win, but more work is needed to create a better society for all Americans.

Colleen McCarty, deputy director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, a nonprofit coalition of business and community leaders that researches, educates and advocates for justice reform, said there needs to be more action on criminal justice reform from Biden's administration.

"The federal holiday is great, but the last criminal justice reform bill was the First Step Act, which was under Trump," McCarty said. "So we haven't seen anything from Biden on criminal justice reform."

In Oklahoma, the last reform bill was State Question 780, and McCarty said that still hasn't addressed the reasons Oklahoma is among the states carrying high incarceration rates.

SQ780 reclassified drug possession as a misdemeanor and created avenues to reinvest savings from criminal justice reforms into prison alternatives and treatment, but McCarty said there have not been bills addressing criminal codes that have led to mass incarceration rates.

"I think we should celebrate the win (for Juneteenth)," she said. "If we really want to honor the legacy of Juneteenth and abolishing slavery, we have to look at our mass incarceration crisis."

McCarty said any win is a good win, but policy change is what is needed from the government now.