{"id":1664,"date":"2026-06-21T07:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T07:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2026-06-21T07:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T07:36:34","slug":"250-years-of-black-excellence-celebrated-at-manoa-valley-juneteenth-cookout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1664","title":{"rendered":"250 years of Black excellence celebrated at Manoa Valley Juneteenth cookout"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; Manoa Valley Theatre concluded its week-long inaugural Juneteenth festival Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1662\">Suspect arrested in Kaimuki attempted murder case involving officer<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when the last of the country\u2019s enslaved people found out they were free, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed.<\/p>\n<p>It serves as a reminder for some to celebrate freedom and Black joy.<\/p>\n<p>Cultural events began Monday, ranging from musical performances to guest panelists.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The festival aimed to celebrate 250 years of Black excellence while highlighting African American contributions and influence in Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing I learned about during this whole thing was how influential black people were to the alii of Hawaii, how black people helped to shape Hawaii,\u201d said festival creator Shervelle Hannah. \u201cJuneteenth doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s just for us; it\u2019s for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hannah added that there is limited access to the Black theater that \u201cis available to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere in Hawaii, I feel like it\u2019s my kuleana to promote that, to make space, to make way for black theater,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1661\">Hawaii Senate vice president announces retirement<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hannah said that in a recent event, six of her director friends spoke about what it means to be Black in Hawaii, doing theater and the challenges African Americans face, \u201cwhose stories aren\u2019t told as much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe get to express that and say, hey, we want a stage too, and we deserve to have our stories told too, and we deserve to be a part of the collective story here in Hawaii,\u201d she said. \u201cJust because we\u2019re Black doesn\u2019t mean that we didn\u2019t have an important part to play in Hawaii and the shaping of Hawaii.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A cookout was held Saturday to close out the six-day festival, hosting local food vendors, African-inspired craft booths, line dancing, and live reggae music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, this is a celebration of freedom and black joy and black excellence because we deserve a seat at the table too, you know. We deserve to be celebrated too,\u201d Hannah said.<\/p>\n<p>Saturday concluded with a show featuring guest performances by West African drum and dance group Sewa Fare, as well as several other festival organizers.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1659\">Family of teen killed in Pali Highway crash speaks out<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The festival aimed to celebrate 250 years of Black excellence while highlighting African American contributions and influence in Hawaii.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>250 years of Black excellence celebrated at Manoa Valley Juneteenth cookout - 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