Buffalo Common Council member Zeneta Everhart talks about all of the Juneteenth events happening around the city of Buffalo this year.
“Buffalo has been celebrating Juneteenth work 49 consecutive years,” she said. “Juneteenth has always been special, especially in my family, but this year for me it’s a little bit more special. Right. So I’m the councilwoman representing the Masten district, in which the Juneteenth rolls right through and it’s it is really just an amazing event. I mean, thousands upon thousands of people partake in the parade portion, but also, it’s always the after effect of the parade for me just to see so many different people out in the community in Martin Luther King Park. People are selling different things in the community, there’s always food out there, there’s going to be bands and performances happening. But it’s it’s always just like a rich cultural experience. And it really is just the people for me, people are just happy to come out.”
“This year’s [inaugural family reunion] theme is “And I Still Rise” and that’s synonymous just with Black people. Despite it all, we’re still here and we’re still persisting on doing amazing things because we’re an amazing people. And so one of the things that, you know, when I started as the councilwoman just a couple of months ago, one of the things that I really, really wanted to do was do like a family type of event. And so in Black families and Black communities, we know it’s all about the family reunion. And that is what we are doing on Wednesday, June 19. I was raised by the community. I wasn’t just raised by my family. I was raised by the neighbors up the block, around the corner and when I was a kid, I knew all my neighbors. I feel like we’ve gotten away from that in the Black community, and I want to bring that back. I want to bring back the village mentality. And I think that the Masten district operates like a family, so I want to bring them all together. We’re going to be celebrating each other we’re going to be celebrating family and the unity that Black communities bring to different cultures. People say all the time that Black people are the soul of this country, and we really are in and I want that to be apparent at this event.”
“As a councilwoman now, yes, representation does matter. It matters that someone who has gone through all of the myriad of issues on the east side of Buffalo is now sitting in City Hall and is able to make changes in our city. I’m just honored to be in this space and honored that the community saw something in me that truthfully, I didn’t even see it myself. I just want to make the city proud. I just want to give them what they deserve.”
You can hear the full conversation between Zeneta Everhart and JoDee Kenney via the video player above. And be sure to tune in for a look inside the biggest issues impacting Upstate New York, on In Focus with JoDee Kenney — every Sunday on Spectrum News 1.
