A local Juneteenth celebration is focusing on wellness this year in hopes of further strengthening the Black community.
Threerd Doylestown’s annual Juneteenth event will be held Saturday, June 15, at the Mercer Museum on Pine Street in the borough and will feature speakers and resources from the medical and health community.
For the past two years, the event has brought the community together to celebrate freedom and achievement, raise awareness of Juneteenth and its historical significance, and empower and uplift the Black community.
“It’s a time for healing,” Doylestown Juneteenth Festival Director Angela Nutter said of this year’s added focus on health and wellness.
“The last few years have been hard, but I’ve realized that I need to prioritize my health. And if I’m feeling that way, I’m sure a lot of other people are feeling that way too. We’re all trying to heal past trauma that we’ve felt over the last few years, whether it’s in the short term or long term.”
But these traumas also involve a long and difficult racial history of medical abuse, Nutter said, citing cases such as the Tuskegee Study, a 40-year experiment in which medical researchers and providers withheld syphilis treatment from unsuspecting African-Americans in rural Alabama, and Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were taken without her consent and used for research.
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“We’re trying to remove the stigma of seeking help because there was a distrust in the black community about going to the doctor because of events that happened in the early ’20s.Number “It’s the feat of the century,” Nutter said.
Dr. Monique Gailey, a breast surgeon and oncologist who will be speaking at Saturday’s event, hopes to convey a message about rebuilding trust with the Black community.
“We have not always volunteered to participate in medical research, and the medical community has not always worked together for our health. Bias in health care is real, and Black and brown communities, who bear a disproportionate burden of disease, are significantly less likely to participate in clinical research,” Gary said.
“So it’s a moral imperative for us to address the elephant in the room and rebuild trust with our communities to advance health equity.”
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As a Black medical professional, Gary said representation plays a big role in bridging the divide and paving the way for others to achieve healthier futures for themselves and their families through preventative care, mental health support, nutrition and physical activity.
“It’s important that the demographics of our medical community reflect the communities we serve. Representation is important. When they see me, they know I’m someone they can trust who’s from where they live,” she said.
“The best way to honor our heritage is to embody the future that our ancestors worked so hard and risked their lives to build, so that their children’s children’s children could have a better life. And we have the opportunity to live a fulfilling, wholesome, healthy life, both physically and mentally. I want people to believe in that. It’s our heritage, it’s our birthright.”
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Details of Saturday’s Juneteenth events in Doylestown:
Doylestown’s Juneteenth will be held on Saturday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Mercer Museum, 84 S. Pine St. in Doylestown.
The outdoor event is hosted by the nonprofit organization Doylestown Juneteenth in collaboration with the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle and will feature speakers, live performances, musicians, DJs, food trucks, vendors, artisans, family crafts and activities, free admission to the Mercer Museum and more.
Participation is free and open to anyone in the community.
Parking at the Mercer Museum is very limited and visitors are encouraged to use the Bucks County Parking Garage at Broad and Court Streets. A free DART bus shuttle runs continuously between the Mercer Museum and the parking garage from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Reporter Michelle Haddon covers local news, small business, economic development, community revitalization, arts and culture for The Intelligencer at PhillyBurbs.com and the Bucks County Courier Times. Please support local journalism with a subscription.
