Juneteenth in Washington County with County Executive Schoemann, Jay Fisher, and Hadwat Sankari
Juneteenth is coming up on Wednesday, June 19th, 2024. This week's episode is a two-parter (all in one episode). In the first half, I speak with County Executive Josh Schoemann and Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Jay Fisher about Washington County’s 5th annual Juneteenth Day celebration. We delve into the significance of Juneteenth, the evolution of the event, and the collaboration between the county and the Boys & Girls Club.
In the second half of the episode, I am joined by Hadwat Sankari from Just Us of Washington County to discuss their Juneteenth Community Celebration which is coming up on Sunday, June 23rd at Pike Lake State Park in the North Shelter.
Find more information about each of these events below.
Transcript
You know, I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't get an episode out every single week. However, I felt it was important to get one out this week because there's an important event that's coming up very soon. And it's an important date. And that date is Juneteenth day, which is coming up on Wednesday, June 19th.
And this week I have three guests to talk about two events coming up in Washington County to celebrate Juneteenth day. So this episode will be split into two parts. The first will focus on Washington County's Juneteenth Freedom Day celebration, which will be taking place at the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County in West Bend on Wednesday, June 19th at 11 a.
m. At the Boys and Girls Club's West Bend campus. The second half of the episode will be on Just Us of Washington County's Community Celebration, which will be happening at Pike Lake State Park in Slinger, Wisconsin, on Sunday, June 23rd, at noon. So with that, we will start with County Executive Schoemann and Jay Fisher of the Boys and Girls Club for the first part of the episode, and then we will be joined by Hadwat Sankari of Just Us of Washington County.
All to talk about both of these events, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
County Executive Schoemann Jay Fisher. Mr. Fisher, so it's more formal. Thank you both for Jay's good. He's like a teacher. Thank you both for joining me today. I'm going to start with a question for you both. So What does Juneteenth mean to each of you personally and why do you think it's important to celebrate it here in Washington County?
[:And I went to many of those and just talked to people to try and understand, you know, what is it that you're trying to accomplish here? You can stand out on a corner with a sign for every day for the next several years and nothing's going to happen, but what do you want to see out of this? And, the most impactful conversation for me was a, a black woman and her son, probably about 18, 19 he was, and, I just went up to him with a notebook and said, asked that question and she said, listen, I, you know, I moved out here to try to get away from MPS, you know, get my kids into a good school system in a good community.
But the thing that really disappointed me and, and hurts the most is there's no recognition of MLK Day, and there's no recognition of my Independence Day, Juneteenth. And I did what you guys are doing, and I was nodding my head, and we finished the conversation. I walked away and went, the hell is Juneteenth?
So I googled it and started reading about Juneteenth. You know, I use the term more often now than Juneteenth, Freedom Day, because that's really what it is. It's, you know, the day that, the Civil War was over and, the Civil War General goes to Texas, Galveston, Texas, and announces the Emancipation Proclamation is now in effect, the last state in the Union.
And it is literally the freedom day for all the slaves in the last state in the union. And so, I mean, what, what an awesome thing to celebrate. There's been an amazing celebration for many years in the city of Milwaukee. And really nothing out here. So for us, uh, in Washington County, in a community that's almost, what I think, like 97 percent white.
It's really as much about educating people. Yeah. Um, because It's Freedom Day. It's, I think it's Freedom Month from Memorial Day to the 4th of July. Armed Forces Day is in there. Flag Day is in there. Freedom Day is in there. What a great way to celebrate and recognize an important part of history for all of us.
[:We need, freedom is important. Freedom is important for everybody, right? And so we take trips to South Dakota with kids. We took a history trip to Washington, D. C. the last couple of summers with kids. Teenagers lose that if you don't teach them that. And you know, quite frankly, if the Boys and Girls Club doesn't teach them that and teach our kids that, Whether it's, Juneteenth Day, or history of our country, or take it to Washington, D.
C. I'm not sure anyone's going to, so that's why it's so important to , me and, and kids need to know the history of this country. They need to know Juneteenth Day. They need to know history about everybody.
[: [:Um, so that was a huge change. And, and the other major change is the county started it kind of on our own. We reached out and engaged a couple of community members, but it was pretty limited 'cause of the short turnaround and now having this partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, you know, I think it's, I think it's important to remember on the heels of.
Yesterday as we're recording this was, D Day, the 80th celebration of D Day, which of course for, for France especially, is a massive, day for them in celebrating their freedom. This is a different version of the same thing. And I think it's important to have a partnership with, as Jay said, the Boys and Girls Club is probably the most diverse place in Washington County.
And if you walk through there during any one of their busy days, and they are very busy, It warms your heart. It's pretty awesome. And to be able to bring people together is what this has all been about. And the partnership between the county and nonprofits is, I think, the key to the future. And hopefully one day, the county is really more of a behind the scenes role and we have our nonprofit groups and churches taking it over all together.
[: [: [: [:So I thought, you know, let's, let's bring it into the Boys and Girls Club. We can have 200, 300 kids are all at the Boys and Girls Club. We're open from seven to five in the summer and all these kids, they need to see this. They need to hear this. And so let's bring it to the Boys and Girls Club and we're expecting a big crowd for it.
And we're inviting community members and, Again, I, I think any time we can put our kids, middle school, high school, in front of, people that can teach them something is, and certainly about freedom and, and things that they wouldn't know, it's very important to, celebrate Juneteenth Day, celebrate a lot of different holidays, but if we don't put that in front of kids, it'll be forgotten quickly.
[: [: [: [: [: [:Okay. So on a summer day, we'd have about 600 kids. So, we're going to bring some kids from each of the clubs, so we'll have a couple hundred kids there for that. Excellent.
[: [:And let me, Let me just point to the very first one, because I think it illustrates the point. When we first did this, we, we hosted the first couple of them, actually, at the old courthouse, the, the, Veterans Plaza. And the reason we did that was because I think where, where the, our histories and our cultures meet, especially on a day like Juneteenth Day, celebrating freedom, from, from slavery in particular, I think where they meet is that one monument that has all the lists of the Civil War veterans from Washington County.
You know, who literally put their lives on the line to protect that freedom. Of course, you could say the same thing just like we talked about with D Day, or World War II, or any other, uh, major conflict in American history. But in this one in particular, we have literally hundreds of veterans from Civil War who put their lives on the line to protect that freedom.
And what a great day to celebrate the culture, and the freedom, of former slaves, and now all these generations later, you know, we're, we're one people. Yeah, e pluberis unum, right? And this is a great way to do that and bring people together to celebrate it.
[:Can you talk about the significance of that?
[:And I mentioned before, I think there should be Freedom Month. I think we should be celebrating from Memorial Day, celebrating the lives lost. For from all those conflicts that I've touched on all the way through Independence Day, which is all of our Independence Day. And, and I think we can do better at that, but this particular day is so important because, you know, as Abraham Lincoln used to say, you know, we were, or at least, suggested that the country was at the precipice of whether or not we were going to be a country founded on freedom, or it would perish forever.
And really, the Civil War, and particularly Juneteenth Day, is the essence, is kind of the pinnacle of saving that freedom and perpetuating it for generations to come, and hopefully we can carry on that tradition and pass that torch to the next generation.
[:And some of the kids are gonna be participating. How are the kids going to participate in this event?
[:And then also, they're just going to be greeters and just, just feel the day and feel the different speakers and hear the different speakers and keep them involved. again, I think it's so important for us to be able to do this and, and teach our kids the history, when freedom and all the people who have died for us, as we.
Continue, and as the years go on, if we don't continue to teach our kids this, or, or bring it up, it's forgotten. And, that's how I think a lot of times in this country, our kids, or adults even, you know, they'll lose respect. They forget why we're all
[:And, uh, if you have not heard her sing that, or if you have not heard her sing period, you're missing out. You'll get goosebumps. I, Guarantee it, or your money back. What else can we expect at this year's events?
[: hed the Super Bowl this year,:But I think it really draws the meaning out of that song, out of, out of the day in general. And, you know, we, we certainly could do other things like God Bless America and America is Beautiful. But for this particular day, I think the relevance of the song is, is just awesome. And like you said, when she sings, Noelle's got such a gorgeous voice, it does give you goosebumps.
It's outstanding.
[: [:What I'd really love to see in the, in hopefully in the next five years, the next half decade is that we're able to bring in people, especially our, our neighbors from Milwaukee. Of course, their demographically, their population has a lot more of a black history than ours. So, I think it would be an awesome thing for us to be able to bring ourselves together, which, you know, that concrete barrier of I 41 always seems to be part of the problem.
But if we could find a way to be able to do that, number one. And number two, you know, when I started this five years ago, I always talked to my team about, we need to bring in someone with national significance. National. Recognition that can really help elevate the day and show people why it's so important for all of us together to celebrate this shared history.
[:And so I think that's a huge deal too, not just that day, but leading up to that day and having kids learn about something that they wouldn't necessarily learn about. Excellent.
[:And it's important to, I think, for the leadership for other counties surrounding us as well to see what we're doing here and to be an example for them. So, I appreciate both of you for doing this. And again, that is on June 19th, which is a, which day of the week is that? Wednesday, June 19th. 11 a. m. 11 a.
m. at the Boys and Girls Club right next to Regner Park here in West Bend. And, appreciate you guys coming in today. Thank you. Yeah, thank you.
[:And And everybody's drinking some strawberry soda and a red velvet cake. Those are traditions of Juneteenth all across Washington County that 20 years from now we'll be talking on your show about that. Absolutely.
[:All right. Thanks for coming on guys. All right. And now we transition over to Hadwat Sankari. of Just Us of Washington County. Hadwat, thank you for joining me today on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. I'm glad to have you back in the studio. It's almost been two years, it's been like 60 episodes since last time you were in the studio with Barseana to talk about Just Us of Washington County.
To recap, can you give us a bit about the mission of Just Us of Washington County and what you do for the community?
[:We seek to help navigate and supply guidance for everyday experiences and challenges faced within Washington County, and we offer support and access to resources that directly impact the well being of others. Our vision is to foster an engaged community that provides a sense of belonging and welcome for those who have been historically excluded from resources and support. based off their race, gender, and sexuality.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [:Alright,
[: [:org, Alright, They can actually sign up to get free parking, so we will cover the parking pass for you as long as you pre register.
[: [: [: [:Okay. And so we just, we'll cover the cost and then give you the pass yourself so you can even fill out all of your information ahead of time. Gotcha, that's right.
[: [:We personally wanted to host a Juneteenth event in Washington County that would allow the community to come together and celebrate the historic day. So, just a way to have fun with each other.
[: [:And also our community is growing and we want people from marginalized groups to feel welcome in Washington County. So representation and celebrating holidays such as Juneteenth is one way to make, one way to make Washington County more inclusive.
[: [: [: [: [: [:Excellent.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [:If you ever have an idea for Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, if you have a guest that you think would be great to have on the show, please email me, 15withfuzz at gmail. com. You gotta write out the word FUZZ. 15, 15 with fuzz at gmail. com or go to fuzz. cc slash guest. Fill out the form and that will come to me and it's even easier than sending an email.
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