Jeanne Jennings, left, heard about the walk on the radio Friday morning, and decided to come to the Green to learn about the Trittons’ history. Jill Snyder spoke briefly about the Trittons: “I’ve spent a lot of time with Lucy and Lois Tritton,” Snyder said during her presentation. “I n ever really forgot them.” Blumenthal and Tengatenga walked and sang during the procession on Friday. Author Jill Snyder kicked off Friday’s Juneteenth celebrations downtown by leading a procession around the Green — recalling the walk that Lucy Tritton and her daughter Lois were forced to take after they were sold into slavery in 1824, the last two enslaved people to be sold on the Green. Snyder organized Friday’s walk in honor of the Trittons and the Juneteenth holiday —  a now-federal holiday that marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Tex. on June 19, 1865, two months after the end of the Civil War and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Snyder, an expert in Black history in the Northeast, was joined by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Downtown/Yale Alder Elias Theodore, Dixwell/Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Troy Streater, and City Historian Michael Morand, among others. As they walked from the corner of Temple Street and Elm Street, the group recited several verses of “We are Marching in the Light of God.” The mood was solemn, contrasting with preparations being made for the Juneteenth Jamboree later Friday. For Morand, recognizing the Trittons with a walk was about “being forthright” about the city’s history, especially “those parts of history that were not good.” Following remarks from Snyder and Morand about the Trittons’ history was the presentation of a Connecticut Freedom Trail plaque for the Green. On Friday, the New Haven Green was officially recognized as a site significant to African American history — one of over 170 such locations officially recognized across the state. “We can be here on the same Green as Lucy and Lois because we recognize the importance of historic preservation and the celebration of our historic places. We can feel the same wind, smell the same earth, see what Lucy and Lois saw,” Connecticut Freedom Trail Chairman Charles Warner Jr. said, looking out over a crowd that had set up folding chairs to hear elected officials and historians speak about Juneteenth. The commemoration Friday afternoon was as much about remembering the Trittons as it was about celebrating the process of telling a city’s history. In his remarks, Morand mentioned several other names in New Haven history whose stories deserve to be known: Joseph Mountain, for example, a Black man who was executed on the Green, and Bias Stanley and William Lanson, who petitioned for voting rights for Black Americans. “We need to be proud,” Blumenthal boomed from the microphone, “for going on, for keeping going, for their perseverance and courage because they are American heroes.” Rev. Cecil “Ngoni” Tengatenga, who also spoke during the event, said he has “wished” for a walk like Friday’s for a while. Of Trinity Church, which the Trittons belonged to, Tengatenga said: “We just pass by and we have no clue, but that is so sacred.” “The Trittons are unique in the sense that they represent both the African diaspora and the African continent,” Tengatenga added, which adds to the “rich history” of Trinity and the Green. According to Snyder, the Trittons may have come from Ghana originally. According to what Snyder referred to as the “urban myth” about them, Lucy and Lois Tritton were bought by an abolitionist who then set them free. Snyder said that version of their history lacks context: a 1774 law had blocked the importation of slaves, another in 1784 set enslaved women free at age 21, and even after she was supposedly free, Lucy Tritton still had to pay the abolitionist who bought her $600 on a laundress’ wage.  After Snyder’s presentation and politicians’ remarks, the City of New Haven invited several elders to the stage to be recognized for Juneteenth. The honorees included Snyder, Delores Edwards, Betty Hamlett-Jones, James Rawlings, Cynthia Griffin Mantle, the Hangley family, and the Monk family. For the award “Elements of Abundance,” Arden Santana, Hafeeza Ture, Shayla Streeter, and Bwak Comfort were also celebrated. Each honoree received a certificate from the City of New Haven to acknowledge “the work, accomplishments, and dedication of unsung members of the black community,” according to the Festival of Arts and Ideas website. The commemorative walk and elders’ ceremony were set to be followed by a free Juneteenth Jamboree concert Friday evening, organized by the Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven and the International Festival of Arts Ideas. On Saturday, the Festival of Arts Ideas also planned to host an artist showcase and Juneteenth marketplace on the Green.  “This Green has been a location of public discord for 400 years. Some of those conversations have been difficult,” Levine said during his remarks. “We are lucky to be here for Lucy and Lois because so many important sites to Black history have been lost or even purposefully erased. Even today.”  A group of prominent New Haveners gathered to commemorate Lucy and Lois Tritton, and to recognize the addition of the New Haven Green as a site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail, in honor of the Trittons. From left to right: Charles Warner and Todd Levine from Connecticut Freedom Trail, Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Michael Morand, Geri Mauhs with the Friends of the New Haven Green, Cecil “Ngoni” Tengatenga, Jill Snyder, and alders Troy Streater and Elias Theodore. Preparing to join the elders’ ceremony. The post Juneteenth On The Green Lifts Up Black History, Present appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less