Juneteenth – From Somber Remembrance to Jubilant Celebration

It feels fitting that this year’s Juneteenth celebration in San Pedro is marked with particular significance. I learned from a brief phone conversation of the collaboration with Joe Gatlin, the founder, and chief executive of the Juneteenth 400 nonprofit, that the Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee would be partnering on this year’s Juneteenth celebration.

Gatlin, who is the vice president of the local chapter of the San Pedro/Wilmington chapter of the NAACP, didn’t need to impress on me the importance of this collaboration. Partly due to the fact that this past April, Angelenos had marked the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots following the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers charged in the arrest and beating of motorist Rodney King.

On the flip side, the Korean American community remembers Saigu, which is Korean for April 29, 1992, a date comparable to the suffering caused by tragedies, such as the Japanese occupation of Korea, the division of the country into north and south, and the murderous shooting spree by Robert Aaron Long across three spas and massage parlors in metropolitan Atlanta.

Gatlin gave me the contact information for Ernie Lee, the executive director of the Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee, to get from him the importance of this event at the Korean Bell. What I ended up getting was so much more.

The Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee will be collaborating with San Pedro’s own Windy Barnes Farrell of Windy City Entertainment and John Malveaux, president of MusicUNTOLD, a Long Beach nonprofit dedicated to presenting concerts that promote diversity and human dignity, to put on a concert after the bell-ringing ceremony.

AltaSea CEO and city council candidate for District 15, Tim McOsker, connected Gatlin and Lee. The long-time executive director of the Korean Friendship Bell Committee explained the committee’s aims are all about the circle of friends.

“The Korean Friendship Bell is as benevolent in structure as its intent to bring about peace and harmony to all who hear the bell ring in all directions,” Lee said. “I hope we can actually not only commemorate and honor the dead but also bring about healing to all who survived great ordeals.”

“We felt it appropriate that we hold it at the Korean Friendship Bell and inaugurate it as part of the official ringing schedule that we have throughout the year,” he said.

Barnes-Farrell will kick off the Korean Friendship Bell ceremony with a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, a song often referred to as the Black National Anthem. Malveaux of MusicUntold will recount the story of how Juneteenth came about, while a string of civic and elected leaders will say a few words, including Rev. Hyepin Im, Supervisor Janice Hahn, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, Rep. Nanette Barragan and Assemblyman Mike Gipson.

Lee noted that Juneteenth was designated as a national holiday last year, but because of COVID-19, the committee didn’t really have much time to prepare. So they had a group of student volunteers come and ring the bell to commemorate the legislative action.

“This is the first time we will actually celebrate it as a community celebration,” Lee said excitedly.

Lee explained that the committee has always been eager to incorporate into its programming the message of inclusion and diversity. This being the 30th anniversary of the civil unrest in LA adds a lot of weight to it.

“This is something we have always mentioned during our Korean American Day celebration, which is so close to Dr. King’s birthday on Jan. 13,” Lee said.

“It’s very key to our mission to make sure that the spirit of cooperation, inclusion and diversity— and definitely very kindly now because of the recent surge in Asian American Pacific Islander hate incidents — that we take a very bold and strong stand against any type of racism (that) is attached to our legacy,” Lee explained.

Lee is thinking along the lines of solemn remembrance and celebration. It is both a day of jubilation as well as a remembrance of the past. He said he thinks that’s appropriate given that the Korean Friendship Bell is not only a symbol of friendship but is a memorial to the veterans of the Korean War. Lee noted that the first time many Koreans saw black people were as American soldiers coming to their aid.

“In that sense, I think they deserve recognition as much as any other American soldier that gave their lives and their service in defense of others,” Lee said.

“Somebody has to tell that story. Somebody has to look at it and I mean, just to be recognized. Oh, yeah, I think that’s a lot sometimes. Just to say, hey, we know this, we know you were there and we appreciate that. So it seems an appropriate venue for us to celebrate together,” Lee said

Lee described friendship as a process of getting along and helping each other and depending on each other. He noted that when the Republic of Korea gave the Friendship Bell to the United States, they viewed the United States as quite literally the shining city on the hill. It was an aspirational idea of the frontier spirit. It was the freedom and can-do attitude that anything was possible here in America. Lee said many Korean Americans learned the hard way during the LA civil unrest that their version of the American Dream could easily be wiped out overnight.

“[The riots] really brought about an awareness in many Korean Americans who ended up in politics,” Lee said. “It would be a disservice to our neighbors and I think for all Americans if we were not always illuminating the past, however painful it may be.”

June 18

Juneteenth Picnic at Peck Park

There will be games, a talent show, a barbecue, and fun.

Time: 10 am to 6 pm.
Location: 560 N Western Ave, San Pedro

June 19

The Ringing of the Bell Ceremony for Juneteenth

The Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee will be collaborating with San Pedro’s own Windy Barnes Farrell of Windy City Entertainment and John Malveaux, president of MusicUNTOLD, a Long Beach nonprofit dedicated to presenting concerts that promote diversity and human dignity, to put on a concert after the bell-ringing ceremony.
Location: 3601 S Gaffey St, San Pedro