PROVINCETOWN — As drummers walked through the crowd to energize a Wednesday afternoon gathering, some 150 people converged on the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House to hear James Jackson Jr., Jordan Hall, and local speakers take up the subject of belonging — the theme of Provincetown’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration.
Ngina Lythcott, a Yoruba spiritual leader, opened the event with a call for those present to “invite our ancestors, upon whose shoulders we stand, to join us in observing and celebrating Juneteenth.” In December, Lythcott was named the 2023 Tim McCarthy Human Rights Champion for her decades of work documenting the connection between racism and Black women’s health outcomes and advocating for justice.
Pastor David Brown followed with a prayer. “We thank you for this, another Juneteenth day when we celebrate the freedom of those who were once enslaved,” he said. “Lord, we understand that we have come a mighty long way, but there’s a mile and a half to go.” Pastor Brown leads the Chapel in Pond Village congregation, which is sharing space with the Wellfleet United Methodist Church while they await word from the building’s owners about their hope of buying it.
“If we’re going to have a conversation about Juneteenth, first we need to have a conversation about punctuality,” said Jackson, who starred in the Tony-winning Broadway musical, A Strange Loop and brought his talent to the stage at the Gifford House for the holiday.
He was talking about the fact that Juneteenth marks the day some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and the army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree. This was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on Jan. 1, 1863. Long celebrated by many Black Americans, Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
On the question of belonging, Jackson reminded those assembled that Provincetown is not seen by everyone as a place where Black queer people are welcome. “I have several friends in New York — collaborators, other artists, people of color — who do not understand my fascination with and love of Provincetown,” Jackson said. “They simply say that Provincetown is not for them.” That fact, he said, “breaks my heart because that’s never been my story.
“Part of why I tell the story of who I am and where I’m from and why it is home to me is because I’m too good to be erased,” Jackson said. “I think we all are.”
After the celebration, Jackson told the Independent that despite Provincetown’s commitment to anti-racism there are noticeably fewer people of color “on the marquee” here. In a place that attracts performers from all over the country and the world, he said, the community has a responsibility to give a stage and platform to more performers of color.
Jordan Hall, a.k.a. Boy Radio, who is starring in this year’s 50th anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show at the Provincetown Theater, wanted everyone present to reflect on the feeling of belonging. “Why are you here?” he asked the crowd. “Why do you come here? Why do you stay?”
He had his own answer. “Sometimes it feels like the spaces weren’t built for me,” he said. “But they are for me. You belong here. You all belong here.”
Other speakers and performers included cabaret singer Qya Cristál, drag performers Devy and Lakia Mondale, singer and high school student Alyanna Dennis, and Town Manager Alex Morse.
Following the speeches, the cookout began with a spread of food including burgers, jalapeño cheddar biscuits, fried chicken, a variety of slaws and greens, and desserts including a red velvet cake that did not last long.
Comedian and creator of Summer of Sass Kristen Becker and the crew of the Provincetown Brewing Co. — Chris Spaulding, Chris Hartley, and Erik Borg, who is also a member of the select board — were among those serving the food.
Volunteers ushered people of color to the front of the line, an idea that Michella Peck, who splits her time between Provincetown and New York, initially resisted. “I wouldn’t feel right,” she said, but after significant coaxing, she took her place at the front, saying yes to a symbolic gesture that the celebration’s organizers had envisioned.
