OCEAN CITY — Dozens came together Saturday at the Eighth Street Recreation Center complex to celebrate the rich history of African Americans in Ocean City and across the nation.
The Juneteenth event included speakers, live music, a comedy show, drums, vendors, bounce houses, food trucks and a chance to catch up with old friends.
It was organized by a couple of hometown men — Dan Sinclair, 51, Ocean City High School Class of 1992, and Josh Baker, 47, Class of 1995.
Sinclair is a television and film producer and festival organizer who now lives in Atlanta. He runs South Jersey Festivals locally but operates as Count on Comedy nationally.
He returned this year to the city, where Baker still owns a summer home, to help revive the event. It had not been held since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian.
“This year we wanted to turn it up a notch,” Sinclair said.
Baker said a lot of the local Black community has moved out of the city and that Juneteenth represented a chance to get back together.
“It is a good time to welcome them back home and to recognize some of the folks in the neighborhood. These people are celebrities — I always tell people that our heroes are real,” Baker said.
He said Sinclair is among those who should be celebrated.
“Dan is one of those heroes, and for him to come back — he has worked with big stars and big names — for him to take the time to come back and show some love to the community is a blessing,” he said.
“It only makes sense to come home and do it,” Sinclair said.
Baker said when organizing festivals, they use fun and games to attract the children for a chance to deliver their message.
“One of the things we are focusing on this year is you will see a lot of youth events that have a lot of things for the kids but we are also addressing mental health issues and their connection to drugs,” Baker said.
Guest speakers included Dr. Kelly Cornish, who spoke on mental health and drug addiction. Cornish is a licensed therapist and mental health advocate with a doctorate degree in human social services. She also is a special education teacher and an author from Cumberland County.
“It’s a call to the community to definitely be more inclusive about mental health and being able to talk about it and removing the stigma, because that’s where we free our minds,” Cornish said, adding that the event is a “sign of unity and a sign of embracing more than we’re looking at.”
Clayton Palmer, vice president of Cape May County NAACP,
spoke on the history of Juneteenth, noting the importance of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Palmer said Black history cannot be separated from American history, nor from world history.
“What people have the tendency to do is think that Juneteenth is focused on African Americans,” he said. “You can’t focus on African-American history, you can’t focus on Jewish history, Italian-American history, because our history is America’s history. They’re all intertwined; one does not function without the other. We can break it down by community, by culture, by nation or continent, but the reality is we are all one world history.”
Samantha Hyman, 28, of Vineland, was selling Bohemian-style clothing and accessories with her sister, Kim Hyman, 34. She said she typically tries to attend Juneteenth events to show others that they can succeed at different roles in life.
“That exposure is good for me and it’s good for kids and other entrepreneurs to see other people that look like them doing what I am doing,” she said.
Other events included presentation of the Eric Jones and Richard Grimes Memorial Award, a standup comedy show featuring Brian Isley and a special guest, live performances by Dynasty Smith from Black Ink Radio and The Muzik Live, and a Community Reunion Dance Party with DJ Cozy V.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff