Thousands gather in Maryland for Juneteenth festival | LIVE

[00:00:04]It's right here.

[00:00:23]That's it.

[00:00:24]>> You sure did, man. I love it. You You were Jersey style. I love it. I love it.

[00:00:28]>> I'm the All right. All right. So, you know where we're going to be next year?

[00:01:07]>> Junth falls on the same June 19th 619.

[00:01:11]It happens every year, [laughter] right?

[00:01:22]That's it.

[00:01:24]>> That's right.

[00:01:24]>> Good morning.

[00:01:26]>> Good morning.

[00:01:26]>> Yes. CLAP IT UP. IT'S JUNTH. IT'S FREEDOM DAY. LAST. [applause] Today we are reminded that freedom is not something we inherited by chance. It was earned through courage, sustained by sacrifice, protected through faith, and carried forward by ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

[00:01:49]Freedom crossed the Edmond Pettis Bridge. It was sung into the night by Harriet. It was demanded by Frederick Douglas. It was protected by the faith of Fanny Lou. And it was carried forward by countless men and women whose names may never appear in history books, but whose courage changed history all the same. Freedom is the spirit of my grandmother keeping me near the cross.

[00:02:17]>> It is the voice of the preacher saying, "HOLD on just a little while longer." It is the heartbeat of every black community who refused to disappear.

[00:02:30]Not just Scotland, BUT THE BLACK HISTORICAL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT MCGOMERY COUNTY. [cheering] [applause] And here in Scotland, WE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT refusing to disappear.

[00:02:44]More than 140 years ago, my great greatgrandfather, William Dove, stood on this land.

[00:02:51]>> Yes.

[00:02:52]>> And saw something that others could not see. He saw possibility.

[00:02:58]He saw a future where black families could own land, build homes, raise children, worship freely, AND CREATE A COMMUNITY rooted in faith. [applause] >> So today, I stand on that very promise.

[00:03:13]I stand ON THE PRAYERS OF WILLIAM DOVE.

[00:03:16]I stand on the faith of those who built Scotland. I stand on the shoulders of the mothers and fathers who sacrifice so that their children could reach heights they could only imagine.

[00:03:29]And as I look across the crowd today, I am reminded that we are their wildest dreams come true.

[00:03:37]They freedom. They dreamed of freedom.

[00:03:40]We are living it. They prayed for opportunity. We are walking it.

[00:03:45]>> Yes. They planted seeds they would never see bloom. And today we are the harvest.

[00:03:55][applause] >> As our nation approaches 250 years of American history, we have much to reflect upon.

[00:04:04]>> In 250 years, a lot has changed and a lot has not.

[00:04:12]There has been a time when people who look like William Dub were considered property under the law. There was a time when black families could not vote, could not serve, could not fully participate in the promise OF THIS NATION. YET, GENERATION AFTER GENERATION KEPT BELIEVING, KEPT BUILDING, AND KEPT PUSHING AMERICA CLOSER TO ITS IDEALS.

[00:04:33]That's right.

[00:04:34]>> And today we stand on a land purchased by a formerly enslaved man, >> a black man, >> and preserved by his descendants.

[00:04:42]>> We welcome the first black governor of Maryland, [cheering] >> Governor West Moore [applause] >> and THE ONLY BLACK GOVERNOR CURRENTLY SERVING.

[00:04:52][cheering and applause] >> SO MY GREAT GREAT-GRANDFATHER COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED THIS MOMENT. HE COULD NOT HAVE IMAGINED THOUSANDS gathered here across to celebrate freedom on land that he purchased. He could not have imagined his descendants standing here 140 YEARS LATER TELLING his story.

[00:05:12]>> And he certainly could not have imagined that a black governor of Maryland would stand on this very ground as we honor the legacy of those who came before us.

[00:05:21]>> Amen.

[00:05:22]>> That is why this moment matters. Not because history has ended, but because his story is still being written. And today here in Scotland, we are writing another chapter.

[00:05:34]>> So on this Junth, let us celebrate. Let us celebrate the progress we have made and honor those who sacrificed everything so that we could breathe free, dream boldly, and live with dignity and purpose.

[00:05:47]>> My name is Leticia Gosway Paul. I am the honor honored to be the Scotland Junth Heritage Festival president and I am the fifth generation descendant of William Dove.

[00:06:01][applause and cheering] >> I would now like to invite up the pastor and elder of Scotland Zion Church.

[00:06:14]>> Good morning everyone. Morning.

[00:06:17]>> How blessed we are to be here on today.

[00:06:19]I represent the Scotland African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, otherwise known as the Freedom Church.

[00:06:27]>> Scotland Amy Zion Church stands on a foundation of Frederick Douglas and others. Harriet Tubman who believed in freedom. Not just social freedom, but economic freedom, mental freedom, anything that keeps our people bound.

[00:06:44]people of color and people in general, anyone who's bound. So, I represent the Freedom Church on today. Uh, it's a beautiful day, isn't it?

[00:06:54]>> You just heard from Reverend Leticia Gaway Paul. [cheering] >> Therefore, I don't need to say a whole lot other than to welcome these persons who are on the stage, uh, particularly our governor and our county executive and to all of you. But we can't do anything today without welcoming the presence of God in this place. So would you bow your heads with me? Gracious and eternal God, we thank you for this beautiful day. We thank you for all that has taken place throughout this week.

[00:07:25]God, we began even on last week and carried over into this week. Thank you for your hand upon Hezekiah Walker, the interfaith service. We thank you for our young people who came together for basketball, cheerleading, and God even um football. We thank you. And now we thank you for this occasion on this day.

[00:07:46]Continue to breathe on us, bless us so that all that we do and all that we say might be transformative. We don't want just another Junth festival, but God, we want to educate, we want to transform, and we want to uplift people of every race, creed, and culture. So, thank you for all that you've done. We pray this prayer in the name that is above every name. In the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen. And amen. Let's have a wonderful day, everybody.

[00:08:18][laughter] >> Hello, I am Teresa Gasway Gleon and Latrice Gasway Johnson. And we want to do a special thank you to the dignitaries. I'll start with Dr. Reverend Dr. Eveina Huggin, members of the members and representatives of historic black communities across Maryland, including Scotland, Stewart Town, Lintensville, Lincoln Park, Emmy Grove, Sandy Spring, High Tide, Tobytown, Prather Town, and Brownstown.

[00:08:54]It's a lot.

[00:09:00]We will also like to thank County Executive Mark Elridge, County Council Lorian Sales, County Council Member Evan Glass, County Council Member Will Jawando, and Michelle Jawando, [laughter] County Council Member Shabbra Evans, County Council Member Andrew Fson, County Council Member Kate Stewart, County Council Member Don Lukey, County Council President President Natalie Gonzalez and then on to you.

[00:09:33]State delegate Lily Cheese, State Delegate Linda Foley, State Delegate Greg Wilms, Planning Board Chair Arty Harris, Democratic Central Committee Chair Pamela Luckett, Director of at Edens, David Jamaican, Dr. Gray from Black Ministries Conference. Um, Miss Bend Binder Wolf, Vice President of Board of Education, Council Vice President, Marilyn uh, Balchamy, Julie Yang, Debbie Spielberg, Scott Goldberg, Walia Chase, Jeremiah Pope, Faari, and Frederick Hawkins. And of course, our sister Leticia Gasway Paul. [laughter] Good morning everyone. Thank you for inviting me to be part of this wonderful Junth celebration. I'm Arty Harris, chair of the McGomery County Planning Board, part of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The planning board oversees land use, including development and parkland in McGomery County. Midi Figurago, our director of parks, and I want to welcome you to Cabin John Regional Park.

[00:10:46]McGomery Parks has been a proud co-sponsor of the Scotland Junth Heritage Festival since its inaugural in 2020.

[00:10:57]It's truly been exciting to work alongside the Scotland community and watch this event grow bigger and more exciting every year.

[00:11:07]The Scotland Junth Festival is an example of how public spaces can unite us. Today we celebrate our rich history, honor our differences, and recognize how together we continue to make Montgomery County an outstanding place to live, work, play, and connect. Thank you.

[00:11:26]Thank you for being here today, and happy Junth.

[00:11:30][applause] >> Good morning, everybody. Morning.

[00:11:38]>> And for those of you who did this last year and some of the other years when it was sweltering hot, lovely day today.

[00:11:45]Look, u the people who built this community did so despite enormous barriers and despite a society that was often working against them. Their story is one of perseverance, determination, and faith.

[00:11:57]It's also a reminder that freedom did not automatically bring equality. And the end of slavery was not the end of the struggle. And you know the importance of Junth is celebrating the liberation of Texas. The final the final thing the fall in the United States.

[00:12:13]What people don't realize in in 18 1867 and in 1870 the reconstruction program of the United States was imposed on the southern states. Southern states were occupied by federal troops till 1877.

[00:12:26]when the Republican party made a deal in order to get their person elected president, they agreed to withdraw the troops from the south. The reason why that was so bad and what the other side of this of reconstruction or the other side of liberation meant was they were building for 10 years a biracial democracy in the south. That was the whole point of it. The first congressmen and senators were elected to Congress in 1870. black congressmen, black senators from the south. All of that was erased.

[00:12:57]And imagine how different this country would would be today had the South been allowed to develop as racial democracy instead of referring to a racist nightmare. And so I I always try to remind people that history is complicated. Knowing what happened is really important because you don't got till it's gone. But sometimes you don't know it's gone until you knew it was there. And and the problem with American history is a whole lot of our history we don't know was there. Last year we gathered to celebrate the reopening of Scotland and Misian Church.

[00:13:28]That church was more than a building.

[00:13:30]For more than hundred years, it's been the heart of this community. It's been a place to worship, a gathering place, a source of strength, and a keeper of Scotland's history. And after the devastation in 2019, there were real concerns about its future. But thanks to the dedication of the community, private partners who gave generously, preservation advoc advocates, county and state support, the church has been restored and elevated so future generations continue to benefit. I want to thank everybody who helped make that restoration possible.

[00:14:01]But what really made the persever Festival.

[00:14:56]What's the day in Junth?

[00:15:10]that we like to talk about.

[00:15:37]attend event.

[00:15:51]>> Good morning. Happy Junth.

[00:16:42]floods of again to make not only is this community here, but it continues. I am proud to be the council member who represents Scotland. I wear my Scotland pride [cheering] every day. [applause] And today I'm wearing my Scotland.

[00:17:05]>> [applause] >> Several years ago, about six years ago, I joined Reverend Huggin and several church elders on a church that had been flooded by rain and by racism.

[00:17:22]Flooded at the bottom of a flood plane, not by chance, but by intentional choices, many government choices and societal choices.

[00:17:33]And it was held up by 2x4s. And we made a commitment then that this community had fought alone for too long and it wouldn't fight alone anymore.

[00:17:42]>> Amen.

[00:17:43]>> And here we are today.

[00:17:45]>> We're looking around. This is not just the Scotland community fighting alone.

[00:17:50]This is the broader community fighting together, >> working together, lifting each other up.

[00:17:56]We now are the 2x4s that were literally holding up this church that would have fallen but for that strength, but for that resilience, but for that commitment.

[00:18:09]That's why we were able to several years ago break ground on the church where it was pouring raining and Reverend Huggin referred to it as liquid sunshine.

[00:18:21]liquid sunshine for those of us who who who were there. And we reflected on the water of the rain. We can't control the rain like we can't control our history.

[00:18:33]We can tell it. We can control how we tell it. We can be honest about it, but we can't control what happened. What we can control, like with the rain, is how we channel it, >> how we use it, what we do with it.

[00:18:45]>> Rain can be a source of life.

[00:18:48]>> Yes. or it could be a source of destruction. Our history can be a source of reconciliation or it can be a source of continued oppression. Today on Junth, we celebrate, we reflect and we recommmit.

[00:19:05]We recommit in Scotland. We recommit on behalf of all of the historic legacy communities where countless families sacrificed everything, gave up everything, faced up head-to-head with impossible obstacles and turn them into opportunities for future generations.

[00:19:23]That is our work, not just their work.

[00:19:26]That is our collective responsibility here together. We are celebrating that here in Scotland. We are celebrating that on Junth. we continue the work not just on paper but in practice. That's what freedom really is. That's what freedom really means. And that's what we're here to honor and to commemorate and to celebrate today. Happy Junth.

[00:19:47][applause] >> Good morning. Good morning.

[00:19:56]>> Happy Junth.

[00:19:59]I am so honored to be on these sacred grounds with the Gasaway girls, the descendants of the Dove family, the only black governor in these United States of America.

[00:20:14]We are blessed in this moment, this Junth. We are blessed. And we can even close our eyes for a moment.

[00:20:25]Imagine how our ancestors felt on that morning when the sheriffs came and told them, "You've been free. You don't belong here anymore.

[00:20:41]You can leave. You can have a future.

[00:20:44]You can build a legacy."

[00:20:47]My name is Lorian Sales and I am that legacy of those ancestors. I share in this community and I feel so drawn to these young ladies because of the legacy that they have carried on. They did not leave Scotland. You look around you and look at all of the communities that thought they would be forgotten.

[00:21:11]They have not just shown up for Scotland. They have shown up for the kinship communities.

[00:21:18][cheering and applause] >> The communities that have felt like they've been paved over and left behind whose histories were not valued enough to be carried on and written into our textbooks.

[00:21:31]So, I'm proud to be an elected official, the first black woman elected at large in this county.

[00:21:40][applause and cheering] That moment is not lost on me because it's not just about a role. It's not just about taking up a seat. It's about ensuring that that seat has a voice and that voice talks for the people. the people who don't show up at the hearings, but the people who live in the communities that need strong advocacy, that need those investments.

[00:22:11]That's what we need. We know the history. We know not to repeat it. We know that people who occupy the White House want to repeat it. We know what history he enjoys and what America he wants to go back to. But that's not our legacy and that's not what we do here in Montgomery County.

[00:22:36]So we have to actively confront and crush the systemic and institutional racism that continues to prevent marginalized communities from seizing their rightful capacity to thrive. We cannot rest. We cannot be weary.

[00:22:55]every day demands our continued dedication to this battle. We must fight for equity in our schools. We must fight for fairness in our economy. We must fight for justice in our legal system.

[00:23:10]And we must fight against the barriers that continue to disproportionately impact black Americans and other communities that have too often been pushed to the margins. That's right.

[00:23:22]Freedom is not self- sustaining.

[00:23:25]Progress is not guaranteed.

[00:23:27]Justice requires vigilance and bravery.

[00:23:31]In a couple of weeks, we will celebrate 250 years of this country's founding.

[00:23:37]Earlier this year, we celebrated 100 years of Black History Month.

[00:23:43][applause] Yes. Let's clap it up because those milestones should make us proud.

[00:23:51]They should also challenge us.

[00:23:54]We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. We are living through a moment. Some would rather have erased from history than learn from it.

[00:24:05]A moment when hard when progress is being challenged, when the contributions of black Americans are being diminished, and when division is wielded as a weapon. We cannot let that happen. And we won't let it happen here in Montgomery County. We will not surrender the generations that came before us who fought so hard for what we have inherited today.

[00:24:29]I love America.

[00:24:32]We have to be stronger than the hate that seeks to divide us.

[00:24:38]So let this day remind us that we're stronger together. Let us stand together, fight together, demand change together, continue pushing this nation forward and closer to its original ideals, a more equitable and inclusive future. History has proven that black people are extraordinarily resilient. We do not shrink when times are tough. If you even watched a sliver of the uh opening of the museum when you heard about Michelle talking about her husband and how in the heat he never bended, he never crowded or shied away from that fear. Let us celebrate our culture, our achievements, our community, our ancestors and the joy. Let us celebrate the love that sustains us, the prayers that cover us, the unity that strengthens us, and the ancestors who made all of this possible with their sacrifices, their blood, their sweat, their tears. Today we celebrate.

[00:25:47]Tomorrow we get back to work.

[00:25:49]>> Thank you.

[00:25:53][applause] Good morning.

[00:26:01]>> Morning.

[00:26:02]>> I'm David Jermaian with Edens, the owners of Cabin John Village Shopping Center.

[00:26:09]Edens is honored to continue to partner and participate in the Scotland Junth Heritage Festival. For the last three years, Cabin John Village has served as the kickoff location for this event.

[00:26:23]To see the continued evolution and expansion of this festival has been incredible.

[00:26:30]It's now the region's largest Juneen celebration and has clearly outgrown Cabin John Village as evidenced by where we are gathering this morning.

[00:26:41]I fondly remember my first meeting with Leticia in early 2023 to discuss her vision for dramatically expanding the festival and how we could help her achieve that vision. The timing perfectly coincided with the opening of our new community plaza area, which was fully programmed with activities for every generation. It helped us welcome people to our new space and showed us what was possible.

[00:27:09]Congrats to Leticia and her team for being the driving force behind growing the Scotland Junth Heritage Festival into what it is today and for creating so many opportunities for our community to connect, interact, and celebrate.

[00:27:26]Thank you and happy Junth.

[00:27:29][applause] >> Well, good morning and happy Juneenth everyone. Uh, I am Maryland State Delegate Lily Chi and I am so proud to be here with my great colleagues, Delegate David Fraser Hago and Delegate Linda Foley representing the Maryland General Assembly. And welcome to our district, Governor Moore. Thank you for joining us. You make this occasion extra special. Thank you. It means a lot to us that you are here. Uh, we are proud Oops. What did I do to my mic? Um, we are proud to represent this special district, not only because it's the largest and the most diverse geographically in Montgomery County, but because this is where things happen.

[00:28:17]Don't you agree?

[00:28:19]>> Thank you. Now, this year's Junth is extra special, not just because Governor Moore is here, but because Montgomery County is celebrating 250, just like our country is celebrating 250. It is a time that we are reminded of who we are and who we have become as a nation and as a people and who gets to belong here, including an outsider like me who grew up half a world away but raised a family and now proudly representing this community that would elect a name they cannot still cannot pronounce. Okay. But this is who we are as Montgomery County and I could not be prouder. So this June we celebrate freedom by celebrating the pride month. We celebrate freedom by celebrating the immigrant heritage month >> and of course we are celebrating Juneenth [applause] but the Scotland Juneenth is not just any other Junth. If you know anything about the history, as Leticia Gary Paul eloquently put it, of fighting for freedom and fighting for our identity as a community, if you have had anything to do with the second century project, you know, this is a textbook example of how you build and rebuild a community.

[00:29:41]>> The state of Maryland is proud to have putting some resources, but we only played a small part.

[00:29:48]Credit goes to all the people here, including the private sector, including all the people in the community for making the Second Century Project a reality. I'm going to shout out to a few people, my friend Bob Buchanan. Thank you very much, Edens, and uh my friend Paul Tuki. They're just relentless in raising fund to make this project faster than anybody imagined could have been possible. So, thank you very much for making this Junth so special and thank you for showing the rest of the country and the rest of the world who we really are and how we do it in Montgomery County. Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you, Delegate Chi. We can say it.

[00:30:37]We can say it right.

[00:30:40]>> Good morning, everybody.

[00:30:41]>> Good morning.

[00:30:42]>> Happy Junth.

[00:30:45]I want to thank uh Leticia and her sisters and all of the descendants. I want to thank Pastor Huggin, to the founding families of Scotland, the Doves, the Harrises, the Masons, and to every I knew I was getting some shout outs when I started saying the names. And to every descendant on this ground today who can stand here and say, "My people built this place.

[00:31:14]I want to begin with a date with a man and a number. The date is March 1880.

[00:31:23]The man is William Dove, >> formerly enslaved, the first black man to own land in PTOIC, Maryland.

[00:31:34]>> And the number is $21022.

[00:31:41]That is what William Dove paid in 1880 for 36 acres of McGomery County land.

[00:31:50]15 years after the first Junth celebration. Just think about that.

[00:31:56]Purchasing land that he was formerly enslaved upon and forced to work. A man who had been counted not as a citizen but as property had to believe what he had to believe about this county and this country to walk into that transaction and put his name on the deed and believe that it would stand. He was not just buying land that day. He was buying a legacy.

[00:32:23]He was saying that his children and his children's children in his children's children children >> would have a county some land to stand on. And he was right.

[00:32:36]>> That's right.

[00:32:37]>> In 1883, James William Harris bought 44 acres right next to him.

[00:32:42]>> And in 1884, Noah Mason bought nine more acres >> right next to him. And his brother Augusta bought six more. deed by deed, land acquisition by land acquisition, blood, sweat, and tears by blood, sweat, and tears, they built this community out of soil and silence and sheer determination until Scotland was more than 500 acres right >> of blackowned land across the Seven Locks Road area.

[00:33:10]>> 500 acres in PTOIC owned by formerly enslaved people and their children. This is and was sacred ground.

[00:33:20]>> That's right. That's right.

[00:33:21]>> Now, we know what happened next. And if you don't, you're about to find out.

[00:33:25]>> That's right.

[00:33:26]>> 500 acres became fewer and fewer and still fewer yet. Tested and erased by every instrument this country has ever invented to separate black families from the land that they have worked and owned.

[00:33:41]through dispossession, through urban renewal, through taxes, through zoning, through floods that the county enabled to happen by roads that cut through roads that didn't have to cut through these neighborhoods.

[00:33:56]500 acres whittleled down to 100 town homes on one single street.

[00:34:05]>> But still, here they are.

[00:34:10]They did not leave. We did not leave. 25 of those 100 town homes are still owned by descendants of the founding families.

[00:34:19][applause] 25 out of 100. And after 146 years, after everything this county and country has thrown at this community to make it disappear, >> Scotland has refused to disappear.

[00:34:33][applause and cheering] These other communities have refused to disappear. I live in Sandy Spring.

[00:34:41]>> A community that has refused to disappear.

[00:34:44]>> And that's what we're celebrating today with Junth. It's not a finish line. It's not a job well done. Junth is merely the right to begin.

[00:34:54]Emancipation did not magically deliver equality. It did not deliver opportunity. It did not deliver security. But what it delivered was the right to begin again, to buy a piece of land, to build a church, >> to bury your dead and ground that you owned.

[00:35:12]>> And in 1880, William Dove began.

[00:35:16]So when I look out at this festival today and how much it's grown at the music, the children, the rides that are going to happen, the church that has stood on this corner down the street since 1924 because the community wouldn't let it fall. I don't see just a celebration. I see the continuation of a legacy.

[00:35:34]>> I see what William Dove was betting on.

[00:35:38]>> The Scotland story is a McGomery County story and it's an American story. And to the families of Scotland, to the black families of McGomery County, the more 200,000 black people who call McGomery County home, thank you for not leaving.

[00:35:52]Thank you for believing in this country's founding mission. And thank you for not selling. and we have work to do to make sure more families can come back to Scotland and to these communities behind you [applause] because we won't forget what they've done.

[00:36:07]So now I have an honor to introduce someone before I sit down.

[00:36:14]Uh he is a friend. He is my brother.

[00:36:18]He's also our governor.

[00:36:20]And I'm so glad he thought it not robbery to spend Junth with us here on this sacred ground.

[00:36:29]>> He did so because Wes Moore understands what this ground means as the 63rd governor of the state of Maryland and the first black governor in over 400 years since this state's history.

[00:36:42][cheering] 400 years. and the third black governor ever elected in any state in the United States of America. [cheering] >> He understands what this means.

[00:36:56]Raised by the indomitable Joy Moore, >> who worked three jobs to give her son and their family a shot. Served his country as a captain in the United States Army, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne with tours in Afghanistan. As the governor, he pardoned more than 175,000 Marylanders. mostly black African-American for old cannabis convictions.

[00:37:22]The largest mass pardon of its history in American history. And in a state where black men like he and I represent 14% of the population, but 73% of the incarcerated individuals, a legacy of slavery that matters. This is a man who understands the legacy of William Dove.

[00:37:41]a man who understands what it means to bet on this country even before this country bet on him.

[00:37:47]>> So Scotland, please give a Junth >> Scotland PTOAC McGomery County welcome to the son of Maryland, a soldier, an author, our governor, the Honorable Wes Moore. [cheering] [applause] [applause] >> Good morning, Scotland.

[00:38:11]Happy Junth.

[00:38:14]>> Happy Junth. Today is the day the Lord hath made.

[00:38:18]>> So we will rejoice and be glad in it.

[00:38:22]>> And this is the space that William Dove envisions.

[00:38:26]>> So we will rejoice >> and give thanks.

[00:38:30]>> I am so happy to be with you. And uh and and I want to tell you uh Will, I just want to say how much I appreciate you, brother. how much I appreciate not just the not just the introduction but also the brotherhood and the friendship and how much I appreciate the fact that we both know what it is like to marry up.

[00:38:50]Michelle, it is wonderful to see you and I'm so grateful to you and both of y'all. I really am. I'm uh it is it is great to be back here in Montgomery County. Uh yes, shout out to Montgomery County.

[00:39:07]>> [applause] >> and uh and and county executives. It is always a joy to be with you and thank you so much uh to this entire team of local leaders of of state leaders of members of the council of of the state delegation that we have here. Uh I can tell you Montgomery County and this district, you all are represented by some absolutely remarkable remarkable public servants who understand what public service is supposed to mean.

[00:39:37]um to have a chance to be here and to follow, you know, folks like my friend Arty Harris, to have a chance to come up here and listen to the word and the fact that we have how Reverend Huggin is one of God's true vessels, >> one of God's true gifts to have a chance to be up here with our festival president, Leticia Gasway Paul Terresa Gasaway Gleeton and Latrice Gasway Johnson.

[00:40:11]Let me tell you something. There's a force of nature going on in this side of this.

[00:40:17]Now, I remember I was talking with Leticia. She's like, she's like, "Governor, I need you to come out here."

[00:40:23]She's like, "I need you to come out here >> for Junth." [laughter] >> I said, "Ma'am, ain't no way I'm saying no to that offer.

[00:40:34]Ain't no way I'm saying no to you. But importantly, ain't no way I'm saying no to William Dove.

[00:40:48]>> That that this celebration and how many people here that it took to make today happen is not just a true testament to community.

[00:40:59]It's a true celebration of a vision.

[00:41:03]of a vision that was casted long before any of us were here and frankly a true vision that was casted long before any of us were even thought of.

[00:41:14]But we had a person and we had a community who was willing to believe in the hope of us and who was willing to fight for the hope of us with just a simple ask that we never forget our history because our history is our power.

[00:41:38]that on Junth on freedom day, we know that this is a celebration of the when African-Americans were finally notified of their freedom. But the thing that we all know is that freedom still remains a very loose term.

[00:42:00]that ending child slavery and understanding the ending of the transatlantic slave trade was important and it was an important moment of liberation. But liberation is not freedom.

[00:42:15]There is a difference that liberation and understanding that that brutal institution, one that served as a foundation of the growth of a nation.

[00:42:31]That the ending of that institution was liberation.

[00:42:38]But the idea of freedom became something that still remained elusive.

[00:42:45]freedom.

[00:42:47]A freedom to be able to own more than you owe.

[00:42:52]A freedom to be able to pass something off to your children besides debt.

[00:42:57]>> That's right. That's right.

[00:42:59]>> A freedom to be able to walk freely inside of community and knowing that you should feel be able to feel safe in your own community, in your own neighborhood, and in your own skin.

[00:43:13]Liberation is important.

[00:43:16]Freedom is necessary.

[00:43:19]A true freedom that each and every one of you continue to push and work towards knowing that freedom is the work of Scotland.

[00:43:31]And I can tell you why it's so important to be here. Because when I think about why this place is so necessary right now and people can ask a question, well why is something like this important in a moment like this? Sometimes you have to remind folks it's because it was built in a moment like this.

[00:43:53]>> You know, think about that for a second.

[00:43:55]You know, think about despite the atrocities that we are seeing, despite the fact that we are watching our democracy trying to be robbed in front of us in broad daylight, despite the fact that we have a federal administration who's trying to use the Constitution like it's a suggestion box.

[00:44:08]Take all that stuff, right? But then think for a second.

[00:44:12]Imagine having a conversation with William Dove, explaining to him how difficult our day was. [laughter] >> Think about that for a second.

[00:44:25]Think about what it would be like going to Mr. Dove and being able to tell him, "Let me tell you what the president tweeted today."

[00:44:36][laughter] Freedom that we know our strength because we know the shoulders that we stand on.

[00:44:47]>> That's right.

[00:44:48]a formerly enslaved farm worker who understood that liberation was not enough that he demanded freedom.

[00:45:01]>> Became the first black man to own land in PTOAC a vision of 500 acres.

[00:45:09]That's our history. That's our power.

[00:45:12]And that is why we know in these moments we will not shrink. We will not bend and the knee. We will not blink. We will not cower. We will work with anyone, but we will bow to no one [applause] >> because our history is so strong that it will not allow our knees to bend.

[00:45:37]That's history and that's our power.

[00:45:40]And in 1924, the congress congregants of this community >> built Scotland.

[00:45:46]>> That's right. AM Zion Church by hand.

[00:45:49]The spiritual home of Scotland [applause] by hand.

[00:45:57]Understanding that we know where our strength comes from.

[00:46:02]>> And we know who gives us our power. We know who empowers us. We know who straightens our back. We know who woke us up. We know who put us to bed tonight.

[00:46:14]But in 1960 when the state decided to fill the wetlands and move seven locks road to the downhill side, they left that historic church in a flood zone.

[00:46:32]For six decades, the basement of that sacred space stayed wet, not unintentional, culminating in a devastating wall collapse just seven years ago. That was not an accident.

[00:46:49]That was not an act of God.

[00:46:53]In fact, that was a derelction of the hopes of God.

[00:46:59]It was an act of negligence.

[00:47:02]It was an act of brutality.

[00:47:05]It was an act of structural racism.

[00:47:08]>> And it's why we honor that spirit and legacy of Junth. Not just by celebrating, but serving as a reminder that we still got work to do.

[00:47:18]>> That we have not gotten to the top of that hill.

[00:47:22]But the beautiful thing about it is when Scotland AM when that wall collapsed, we saw how the community rallied.

[00:47:29]>> That's right. That's right.

[00:47:34]a beautiful community, a rainbow mosaic who said that this part of history is not history of a group. It is all of our history. It is history that deserves to be protected. It's history that deserves to be uplifted. It is history that deserves to be respected. And it's understanding this that the work means that we're not just going to address individual acts of racism, but that we actually have to address the systems that allowed it to exist unabated.

[00:48:06]That it's too easy to say that racism is an act because it is not just an act.

[00:48:16]That's too simple.

[00:48:18]Racism is not just an act. It is a system.

[00:48:23]>> It's a system that allows these type of decisions to be made and for there to be no accountability for them.

[00:48:33]So we have got to continue doing the work of not just addressing the individual acts but actually uprooting the systems that allow those acts to exist in the first place. [applause] and why I am so proud to be in partnership with this group and all of you because that's what this moment requires and that is frankly what Mr. Dove demanded.

[00:49:01]A way to address systems that allow for our H.B.CU to be neglected in the way they have been neglected. And it's why in just three years together we have increased funding for our state's H.B.CU cus by 60% a record [cheering] $1.3 [applause] billion dollars that have gone to Maryland's four HB.CU.

[00:49:22]It's a system that allows for a federal administration to come on board and eliminate certifications for blackowned businesses and for MBEs and where I am very proud of the fact that we've been able to work together here in the state of Maryland to be able to now have procurement reform that has directed over 4.3 billion dollars to Maryland to Maryland's uh to Maryland's MBEs, over $800 million to Maryland's blackowned businesses alone.

[00:49:52]unapologetically making sure there is fair access to state capital to blackowned businesses because we know that's where wealth oftentimes can start and end.

[00:50:02]It's at a time when, as my friend Will talked about, when we have watched cannabis and we have watched a war of drugs being used as a cudgel against black communities, watching every sentence become a life sentence and watching people continually being punished for actions that aren't even illegal in our state anymore.

[00:50:23]And so while I was very proud to stand together with so many of you to sign the nation's largest mass pardon over 175,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions and struck in the stroke of a pen.

[00:50:35][applause] While we are watching a federal administration who is using their pardon power to do things like pardon people who stormed the capital on January 6, >> we decide we're going to do something a little different here.

[00:50:47]And at a time when we are watching a federal administration determine what about our history should be learned, which books are worth reading.

[00:50:57]While we're watching those who somehow think that justice means banning books here in Maryland, I was proud to stand with so many of you as we sign legislation banning the banning of books. You will not ban books inside of the state of Maryland. [applause] The work of repair is not in the future.

[00:51:15]The work of repair is now the work of repair is required that we're not just addressing acts, we're addressing systems. The work of repair is making sure that we never forget the legacy of Mr. Dove. We never forget the legacy of the families around. We never forget the legacy of his ancestors and the legacy of his descendants.

[00:51:33]>> That's right. That's right.

[00:51:35]>> That we never forget what is going to be required inside this moment.

[00:51:40]We know these times are tough.

[00:51:43]We know these times are challenging.

[00:51:46]Being here reminds us that we've seen tough times before.

[00:51:49]>> That's right.

[00:51:51]>> We've seen difficulty. We've seen challenges.

[00:51:56]>> And we know the shoulders that we stand on to be able to get to, as it says in Psalm 61, to a rock that is higher than I.

[00:52:07]>> Facing the rising sun of our new day begun.

[00:52:12]Let us march on until victory is won.

[00:52:17]God bless you guys and thank you so much for everything continue to do [applause and cheering] >> at this time. Can I call up the kinship communities? The kinship communities come on up. Lincoln Park, Kgar, Sandy Spring, River Road, you know who you are. Littensville, Tobytown, Damascus, Emery Grove. Come on up quickly.

[00:53:03]right here.

[00:53:15]Where should we move it? Move it down.

[00:53:17]Should we move it down?

[00:53:19]>> Let's move it.

[00:57:15]Good job.

[00:57:49]Yeah, man.

[00:57:52]>> Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir.

[00:58:10]I see.

[00:58:20]>> So you all are just going to be over there.

[00:58:26]How you guys doing?

[00:58:29]>> How you doing? How you doing, sir?

[00:58:54]We got a minute.

[00:59:30]We should everywhere.

[00:59:42]This is like How you doing?

[01:00:45]This is the parks director. talk about the >> words and it be a little