Historic Annapolis is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Historic Annapolis Preservation Award. HA's Preservation Award honors those who have connected the history and culture of our city through historic preservation and education. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting this year's awardees and celebrating their dedication to historic preservation as advocates, educators, and stewards.
2021 Preservation Award – Phyllis Tee Adams for Community Leadership, Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration
Historic Annapolis is delighted to present a 2021 Preservation Award to Phyllis ‘Tee’ Adams for her work as a community leader for the founding of the Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration.
Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of all enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War and was officially declared a national holiday in June 2021. Her commitment to recognize this important event in our history is inspirational and most certainly award worthy. To that end, Robert Clark, President and CEO of HA, Mary Angela Hardwick, HA's Vice President of Education and Interpretation, Karen Theimer Brown, HA's Senior Vice President of Preservation, and I sat down with ‘Ms. Tee,’ as she likes to be called, to talk about her Historic Annapolis Preservation Award prior to her visit to our new exhibition, Annapolis: An American Story. We had a lot of fun listening to her heartening story about the creation of the Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration, which came to her in her sleep.
“Everything started with a dream,” Ms. Tee said. “I had a dream that there was a big celebration, and I saw in the field that was behind Maryland Hall... people celebrating and partying. Three days later I woke up and I heard the word ‘Juneteenth.’”
For a little historical background on Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865, that federal troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and announced that the over 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth). And so it was that two months after the end of the Civil War and two and half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, those in the confederate state of Texas finally received word that they were free. This day became known as Juneteenth and became an annual celebration among the newly freed people in Texas, a tradition which then spread to other states. Over a century and a half later, Juneteenth is celebrated across the country and is now a federal holiday. The holiday marks a second Independence Day in the United States--a day of remembrance and hope to acknowledge the history and look toward the future.
In just under a year, Ms.Tee and her team created Annapolis’s first Juneteenth celebration. It’s theme was “Honoring Our Past and Celebrating Our Future.” The festivities began with a VIP reception and continued the next day with a parade and a festival. The event exceeded all their early expectations. When planning began, Ms. Tee and her team were expecting about 1,000 people to attend, but that number quickly began to grow. The parade alone included 2,000 participants and more than 7,000 people attended the festival.
“The things I do never end up small scale…it kind of gets bigger and bigger each time.”
A Parole native, Ms. Tee has long been a steadfast community leader and is proud of her deep ties to the Annapolis and Parole areas. “The Parole community is all connected -- we are a family.” She spoke about how she would give neighborhood kids new experiences over the years, like teaching them how to ski. She isn't afraid an adventure and has colorful stories about skiing, sky diving, four wheeling, and more.
“Anytime I can give an experience, anytime I can expose young people, anytime we can educate them, I am going to do it, whether I have the funds or not.” She carried this philosophy with her in the planning of the first Juneteenth celebration in Annapolis.
Juneteenth was a community effort. Support was garnered from individuals as well as local organizations, businesses, and churches. “The personal donations made my heart melt because that said, 'I care.' We’re not just waiting on corporations and businesses to give us money. It’s us giving back to us.” The team marketed the event on Facebook and distributed flyers to neighbors. They also created commemorative coins and t-shirts to raise funds, which sold quickly.
One of the primary goals of the Juneteenth celebration was to educate participants on Black history and the foundations of the holiday. The parade began at City Dock with a prayer and libations ceremony (Pictured below with Delegate Shaneka Henson. Photo Credit: RJohnsonJr Photography). Ms. Tee says, “People need to know the history, they need to know that Annapolis has a much wider experience. It was intentional that we started the parade at City Dock because that’s where the slaves arrived. We had a libations ceremony where we poured the water representing our ancestors back into the water.” The Freedom Way exhibit, created by Bishop Craig Coates to accompany the festival, was a 175-foot display along the track of the Bates Athletic Complex that told of the struggles and successes of Black Americans on the road to freedom.
Ms. Tee is grateful to her hardworking team and family who made the dream of the 2021 Juneteenth Celebration a reality. It was indeed, a family affair: Ms. Tee's husband and grandson painted displays in the heat of the summer and her granddaughter created a video on the history of the event that can be found on the Annapolis Juneteenth website.
Planning for Juneteenth 2022 is well underway and will kick off Friday, June 17, 2022 with a VIP Gala and continue with a parade and festival on Saturday June 18, 2022. The 2022 festival will include two entertainment stages, featuring new acts and returning favorites like the Chuck Brown Band and the Karnival Bounce Crew. Like last year, it will be an exciting day filled with food, vendors, children’s activities, and finish off with fireworks. HA looks forward to supporting this event and sharing it with our membership.
Without question, the first Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration was a triumph. The event that began with $50 and a dream turned into a massive two-day celebration that will live on in Annapolis. During the festival, Ms. Tee said “I looked down on that field and I saw the exact vision that I had. There were no fights, there were no arguments, just people coming together as one and celebrating.” Ms. Tee’s vision and dedication serves as an inspiration to us all. HA is proud to present her with a Preservation Award this year.
Information on Annapolis Juneteenth 2022 can be found on their website, Facebook page or Instagram.
by Carolyn Currin
