Message from Councilman Matt Adams | June 9, 2022
Saturday, June 18 will mark another important day in Scotch Plains as we come together for the second straight year to celebrate Juneteenth – now an official National, State, and Municipal holiday — in our wonderfully-diverse township.
The seven-hour celebration will take place, once again, at the most appropriate place: Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, the very first African-American country club in the United States. It is proudly located right here in Scotch Plains at 820 Jerusalem Road.
Shady Rest’s roots in the African-American experience and the quest for civil rights are so significant that the mayor, my council colleagues, and I unanimously voted to restore the name of the facility to its original name last year to celebrate its 100th anniversary and honor the unique place that our community has in history.
Juneteenth (short for June 19th) “commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States” (history.com). On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were free, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The scourge of slavery is our nation’s original sin. As a community, we must teach from it and learn from it so that we can never allow a similar evil to be perpetrated against anyone ever again.
We were so proud last year to have our inaugural Juneteenth celebration in Scotch Plains – free and open to the public. It is imperative that all of our residents realize the significance of this date in American history, and come to learn the important role that our community has had in the quest for equality.
In the same month where we have raised the Pride Flag over town hall, Juneteenth is yet another reminder that Scotch Plains is proud to be an inclusive place. Indeed, hate has no home in Scotch Plains. At a time when we see disgusting and hateful things going on in a town in which we share a border, I am heartened to see how committed our residents are to the remembrance, reflection, and celebration that accompanies this important date on the calendar.
It is important to share the history of Shady Rest, home to the first African American professional golfer John Shippen, as part of this educational process; it is only fitting that our celebration takes place at this landmark location in our community.
We must also give special recognition to Social Justice Matters (SJM), which is once again coordinating the Juneteenth celebration. SJM is an important local non-profit organization, celebrating 13 years of local service. This group of volunteers is fully committed to active inquiry into matters of race and creation of equitable communities. This celebration would not take place without their effort.
I encourage you to visit www.spfjuneteenth.com for the full schedule of events beginning at 1 p.m. to celebrate art and the tradition of storytelling of the Black experience.
There will be golf (of course), as well as stories, demonstrations, poetry, theater, a DJ, miniature golf and – most importantly – the honoring of local heroes.
Please join us, our friends from Fanwood and SJM for a day of fun and reflection. I must also express my appreciation to the Union County Board of County Commissioners, supporting this program through a 2022 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) grant.
See you at Shady Rest next Saturday!
