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# Whitehall Mayor shares powerful message at Juneteenth ‘Freedom Day’ event

By Cindy PrayDLA Land and Maritime Public Affairs

                COLUMBUS, Ohio  –              
For Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens, it was a culmination of childhood experiences that helped shape his understanding of Juneteenth and ultimately his duty and responsibility as an American. Now, as the first African American mayor of Whitehall, Ohio, Bivens shared his personal connection with the holiday with the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime workforce during a ‘Freedom Day’ celebration June 18 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium.

Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. Although it has been celebrated annually in various parts of the country since 1865, Juneteenth wasn’t recognized as a federal holiday until June 17, 2021, when the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law.

“In many ways, the story of Juneteenth is a story about our ongoing commitment toward building a nation that is more equal, more fair and more free,” said Kenneth Watson, DLA Land and Maritime Deputy Commander. “A nation where every person has the opportunity not to just get by but to get ahead.”

Bivens said that for him, researching the African American experience begins with a moment of anger.

                Sanai Arthur, an Ohio University student and flutist, plays the National Anthem during Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration. The event was held on June 18 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium and featured Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens as keynote speaker. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)                            Whitehall Mayor shares powerful message at Juneteenth ‘Freedom Day’ event                            Sanai Arthur, an Ohio University student and flutist, plays the National Anthem during Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration. The event was held on June 18 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium and featured Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens as keynote speaker. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Arthur HyltonVIRIN: 240618-D-DM952-5290

“But I didn’t want to [come here] and speak with anger. I wanted to speak from a place of hope,” he said.

Bivens said he decided to share what he learned from his late mother and his childhood, as his mother was everything to him and his Juneteenth experience began with her.

“She was my superhero and profoundly capable of doing anything...we were economically poor, but we found tremendous currency in the way that we shared our words with each other,” he said. “And this currency was to build trust, a sense of safety – because it was just the two of us – she always had a way of saying things to me in a way that I could understand.”

Growing up in California, homeless at times, he said they met many people – one being a man named Johnny, a drug addict who lived in his neighborhood. He recalled a time when Johnny was on drugs; he picked up a television and threw it out of a window, then jumped out after it and began running through the neighbors’ patios. Johnny was arrested and went to rehab. When he finally returned to the neighborhood, Johnny spoke of redemption and apologized to everyone. Bivens’ mother explained to her son that Johnny was in a 12-step program.

“I had no idea what that meant but immediately I assumed that it was something good – not just for Johnny, but for everyone,” he said.

Not long after, Bivens’ mother and her friends were getting ready for a celebration they called ‘Independence Day.’ Bivens, confused because it wasn’t the 4th of July, questioned his mother.

“Her response has stuck in my mind ever since,” he said. “She said to me, ‘You know how Johnny is in a 12-step program...his sobriety? Well, Juneteenth is America’s sobriety.’”

Bivens said while he knew nothing of Juneteenth at the time, that brief conversation helped shape his understanding – that Juneteenth was when America finally declared that it would not feast on the oppression of the enslaved.

Bivens said the African American experience cannot be understood without knowing some of its history. He mentioned John Casor, the first Black man to be declared a slave for life in America, and how his case opened the door to the culture and the mentality to support slavery. He spoke of the Transatlantic Slave Trade launching a whole political system of international trade of goods and services built on the flesh of men and women. Then, again, Bivens recalled Johnny’s battle with drugs.

                Wynueco Washington, a customer account specialist supervisor for Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, performs a piece of music with his saxophone during DLA Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration June 18 at Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium. The event featured Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens as keynote speaker. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)                            Whitehall Mayor shares powerful message at Juneteenth ‘Freedom Day’ event                            Wynueco Washington, a customer account specialist supervisor for Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, performs a piece of music with his saxophone during DLA Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration June 18 at Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium. The event featured Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens as keynote speaker. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Arthur HyltonVIRIN: 240618-D-DM952-5448

“In many ways, that foundational system was America’s original performance enhancing drug that made America strong, with the ability to renounce and charge grievances against the tyranny of [Great Britain] – it gave America a vision of its Independence,” Bivens said. “But like most drugs offering the euphoria of strength, it also masked the investment of power that’s necessary for actual strength...So much so, that America created a whole system to justify its actions – building excuses in science, religion and culture to live in a constant state of denial.”

“But anyone who has been around drugs,” he continued. “We all know that same drug requires more to get the same feeling, while its ultimate goal is to kill the host.”

Bivens said the ‘drug’ of the slave system had a similar effect on the body of America and that its momentum of intervention and the conflict ensuing from its grip on the hearts of the ruling class ultimately led to the American Civil War.

Bivens explained that political controversies ensued and the ultimate goal to end slavery did not meet its moment until September 22, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

“It was the shot of Narcan to America’s heart and its overdose on slavery,” he said. “It offered a moment of having its body ripped away from the drug that plagued it for hundreds of years.”

However, for more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, hundreds of thousands of Americans in Texas remained enslaved and unaware of their freedom, Bivens explained. Then, on June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas, freeing approximately 250,000 still enslaved.

On that day, they claimed their freedom and celebrated in the streets. It is a date Bivens calls America’s date of sobriety.

Bivens again recalled Johnny’s struggles. He said the pressures, old habits and fears led Johnny into a relapse and prevented his happily ever after. Bivens compared this to America’s ‘attempts to stay sober’ through the Reconstruction Era but said even then, America yearned to taste the drug of oppression.

“The will of those committed to recovery was stronger and it remains stronger to this day,” he said. “Recovery from the past steps of America, to walk the full measure of its promise, continues today.”

Bivens ended his remarks by inviting the audience to consider one final analogy and a reminder that Juneteenth is not just an African American holiday, but a ‘Freedom Day’ for all.

“To the extent that you’re able to join in the revelry of your favorite team...consider Juneteenth with that same spirit,” he said. “You don’t have to be African American to have a deep connection to the celebration...admire the will of champions and regard yourself as someone who lifts up greatness rather than tears it down...be more than a spectator – join in the celebration.”

Bivens concluded, “The victory of Juneteenth is an American victory. We have to be more than the United States of America; we must also be a united people of America.”

The observance also featured the National Anthem played by Ohio University student and flutist Sanai Arthur, and a cultural expression by DLA Land and Maritime Customer Account Specialist Supervisor and saxophonist Wynueco Washington.

Robert Woods, DLA Land and Maritime product specialist, served as master of ceremonies; Alonzo Burris, DLA Land and Maritime small business professional, provided the invocation; and Jim Godfrey, deputy director for Land Customer Operations and executive champion for the African American Employment Program, provided closing remarks.

                Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson (right) presents a memento as a token of appreciation to Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens (left). Bivens served as keynote speaker for DLA Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration June 18 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)                            Whitehall Mayor shares powerful message at Juneteenth ‘Freedom Day’ event                            Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime Deputy Commander Kenneth Watson (right) presents a memento as a token of appreciation to Whitehall Mayor Michael T. Bivens (left). Bivens served as keynote speaker for DLA Land and Maritime's Juneteenth celebration June 18 at the Defense Supply Center Columbus Operations Center Auditorium. (Photo by Arthur Hylton/DSCC)            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Arthur HyltonVIRIN: 240618-D-DM952-5415

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DLA Land and MaritimeEEOJuneteenthSpecial Emphasis ProgramWhitehall MayorDSCCCulture L&MResiliency L&M