The Masjid Malcolm Shabazz has been celebrating Juneteenth in Harlem well before it was a nationwide holiday. The celebration and parade is now in its 31st year and will be held on Saturday, June 15, with a bevy of activities and a festival for all ages.
Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of enslaved Africans and their descendants on June 19, 1865, wasn’t recognized as a significant date for a long time. For two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, people were still held in captivity in Galveston, Texas. Union troops were sent in to enforce the new law.
Outside of local celebrations, many advocates feared that Juneteenth would become a footnote in history. “We use that date to mark our time of freedom here in America,” said Ade A. Rasul, former grand marshal and Juneteenth coordinator at the masjid (mosque).
The historic Masjid (West 116th Street), known for its unique green domed architecture, was founded in 1956 by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and civil rights icon Malcolm X, known to many as Minister El Hajj Malik Shabazz. The Muslim community, fostered in the heart of Harlem under their leadership, fought to promote ideals of racial equality and pan-Africanism for years.
After X’s murder in 1965, the masjid was fire bombed by those who believed that Nation of Islam assassins were responsible. Two of the three people imprisoned in that case had their convictions overturned in 2021 and new witnesses have since alleged a government coverup. The top floor of the building was lost in the bombing, but X’s original office remained intact. The masjid continued to exist and thrive. By the 1990s, it had become a pillar of the Harlem community and inspired the tourist attraction, the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market, that was constructed down the street.
Juneteenth Committee of Masjid Malcolm Shabazz photos
At the behest of Muhammad, said Rasul, the masjid strove to keep the memory and history of Juneteenth alive for the last 30 years with an annual honorary breakfast, community parade, and all-day street festival with local vendors. The event has swelled to include live bands, a moving museum, a double-dutch and basketball tournament, and health screenings for attendees—all funded by the masjid, Rasul said.
“That was our objective,” said Rasul. “We didn’t know that in our lifetime, George Floyd would happen or the holiday would be recognized.”
Because of the racial reckoning that was the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Juneteenth became a statewide holiday in New York under former Governor Andrew Cuomo. A year later, President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which officially made Juneteenth a federal holiday. Finally, in 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams designated Juneteenth as a paid city holiday.
Rasul said the Juneteenth Coalition of NYC has now set its sights on moving the needle forward on the issue of Black reparations in the state and across the U.S.
For more info, visit www.juneteenthcelebrationnyc.org and www.themasjidmalcolmshabazz.com.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.