New York City Mayor Eric Adams boldly claimed in his first speech on June 16 that Big Apple residents “needed to do better” to preserve historically black neighborhoods in the city.
The 61-year-old Democrat said the eviction of black residents from historically black neighborhoods is akin to slavery not only in New York City but in other U.S. cities as well.
“When I was in Ghana last year, I saw families being displaced, torn apart and taken to America by slavery in the hulls of ships, living in dungeons, spending months and months in their human waste and their babies being kidnapped by them and saw them scattered and driven out,” he said in his Sunday address from Central Park.
“It’s no different here,” added the mayor to a packed crowd celebrating the new federal holiday.
“We can’t look in the rearview mirror and say we should have done better when we’re here,” Adams said. “Let’s do better right now. Let’s acknowledge the presence of people who are part of the community they have built.”
Mayor Eric Adams, 61, speaks during the Juneteenth Celebration at Seneca Village in New York City’s Central Park, where a little less than 100 years ago a black population of 200 lived before being ousted by construction and city officials
A small crowd gathered in Central Park to hear the mayor’s speech on June 16 as the city celebrated the new federal holiday for the first time in its history
Not too far from the mayor’s site is Seneca Village, which was founded in Central Park in 1825 and was home to more than 200 free black residents at the time. They were later evicted from the area in the 1950s as construction increased in New York City.
“Imagine being evicted over and over again,” Adams said. “When this village was torn apart to build this park, we displaced the energy of Seneca Village. It never came back.’
“Let’s not remember the village of Seneca if we cause another destruction of a village of Seneca,” added the mayor.
“That’s something we should think about as we jog through here, while observing this beautiful place [Frederick] Olmsted built, when we look at how great this Central Park in the center of Manhattan is, we’ve pushed quite a few families here. We destroyed lives,” the mayor said. “There were families here long before Starbucks. They were here and they laid a foundation.’
Many areas in the city with a dense population of black residents are located primarily in Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens. Adams said, “So what happens now? We’re crowding them out again,” referring to skyrocketing rents in New York City since the end of the pandemic.
“Nobody wanted this country. This country was not attractive. Nobody wanted Manhattan,” Adams said, claiming the rise of the Big Apple over the past century has forced minorities to settle elsewhere. “These churches that were left here need to be built in other places like Harlem in downtown Brooklyn.”
In the 19th century, New York City completed the construction of one of its most significant public service projects, the Croton Aqueduct System (pictured). The water system included a large holding tank built across the Seneca Village community in 1842
The All Angels’ Church on West End Avenue, between 80th and 81st Streets, is considered one of the most iconic structures in the village of Seneca before it was demolished and built elsewhere
Adams (second from right) celebrates June 16 with New York City residents and officials
A crowd and live musicians gathered around Seneca Village to celebrate the city’s first ever June 16th
Dancers perform as Mayor Eric Adams visits Seneca Village in Central Park while the June 16th celebrations were underway
The mayor claimed black residents of New York City aren’t the only ones in the country who feel they might be pushed out of their neighborhoods. Cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma; Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta have also undergone massive shifts in gentrification, where minority communities encounter “destruction.”
“We keep starting over and wondering why we see some of the crises we face as black in brown communities,” Adams said. “Every time they were able to gain a foothold, they were evicted again. As soon as you started building something, it was torn apart.’
In April, Adams declared June 16 a federal holiday in New York City and wants to forever remember those who laid the foundation of the city.
“Let’s raise our children to know that there were people here who built this city that we call New York,” he said before saying goodbye.
A year after President Joe Biden signed legislation making June 19 the nation’s 12th federal holiday, Americans across the country gathered for events filled with music, food and fireworks, notably in Times Square.
Artists appearing on Broadway perform in Times Square on Sunday during a Juneteenth celebration
A huge crowd reacted during a performance at a June 16 celebration in Times Square on Sunday as they were entertained by Broadway artists
On a sunny Sunday, when most residents enjoy their three-day weekend, crowds cheer for the June 16 artists
US actor Ben Vereen delivers a speech after receiving an award during a June 16 celebration in Times Square
Broadway celebrated June 16 in Times Square by hosting a free outdoor event featuring black Broadway artists.
The event had cast members from Broadway shows including: The Book of Mormon Company, Dear Evan Hansen, Funny Girl, The Minutes, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Mr. Saturday Night, Paradise Square, The Phantom of the Opera; and Tina – The Tina Turner Musical.
New York City Hall will also display the colors of the Pan-African flag (red, black and green) on Sunday evening in honor of the new holiday.
The celebrations also included a focus on learning about history and addressing racial differences. Many people celebrated the day just as they did before the formal recognition.
June 16, also known as Liberty Day, commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to order freedom for the state’s enslaved people – two months after the Confederacy surrendered in the Civil War.
“Great nations do not ignore their most painful moments,” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “You confront them to get stronger. And this great nation must continue to do so.”
On a warm Sunday in the Big Apple, attendees watch a Juneteenth celebration in Times Square
Aisha Jackson reacts to a performance during a June 16 celebration in Times Square
US actor Myles Frost listens to a speech by US actor Ben Vereen during a June 16 celebration in Times Square
A Gallup poll found that Americans know June 16 better than they did last year. 59% said they knew “a lot” or “a little” about the holiday, compared with 37% a year ago in May. The poll also found support for making June 16 a part of school history lessons rose from 49% to 63%.
However, many states have been slow to declare it an official holiday. Lawmakers in Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and elsewhere this year failed to introduce proposals that would have closed state offices and granted most of their public employees paid leave.
Celebrations in Texas included one at a Houston park created 150 years ago by a group of formerly enslaved men who bought the land. At times, it was the only public park available to blacks in the area, according to the conservancy’s website.
“They wanted a place where they could not only celebrate but also do other things throughout the year as a community,” said Jacqueline Bostic, executive vice president of the Emancipation Park Conservancy and great-granddaughter of one of the park’s founders, Rev. Jack Yates .
Attendees included Robert Stanton, the first African American to serve as director of the National Park Service, and Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, who grew up in the historically black neighborhood where the park is located and was murdered by him a Minneapolis police officer two years ago sparked protests around the world.