“Today is the day of reflection, right?” said Tracy Stokes, a Union-based business owner and motivational speaker, to the audience in the auditorium of the Lincoln-Grant Scholar House Wednesday afternoon. “Today is a day of freedom. Today is a day of celebration.”
Stokes was one of several people who took the stage to celebrate Juneteenth at the scholar house. The event showcased local social service agencies and featured food, vendors, music and, most notably, the talent of local youth. At the same time, families packed into Randolph Pool, which is adjacent to the scholar house, to escape the week’s exceptionally high temperatures.
“It just amazes me to see how many awesome events are going on across the city, across the Tri-State and the country, even,” said poet and author Kimberly “DuWaup” Bolden, originally from Elsmere, who emceed the talent show.
The Lincoln-Grant Scholar House takes its name from the Lincoln-Grant School system. The system began in 1866 with the William Grant High School, which was founded to educate local African-American children. In 1876, the school was established as an African-American public high school.
Eventually, the system expanded to include K-12 education, becoming the Lincoln-Grant School. In 1965, following desegregation, the students from the high school were integrated into Holmes High School–Covington Independent Public Schools actually displayed a showcase of photos and other historical memorabilia and honored the graduates of the Lincoln-Grant system earlier this year. The elementary school continued operating as Twelfth District Elementary until 1976 when the building was converted into the Northern Kentucky Community Center. In 2017, the building was converted again into the Lincoln-Grant Scholar House.
These days the scholar house is managed by the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, which provides a variety of resources to local families in need. The building serves as live-in quarters for single parents pursuing full-time college, trade and other post-secondary education. Students receive housing assistance, career counseling and other services to help them establish long-term self sufficiency without taking on excessive debt. The building features a computer lab, a children’s library, exercise facilities and an auditorium. About 45 local families use the scholar house’s services, according to the community action commission’s website.
Juneteenth itself commemorates Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger’s announcement of the abolition of the slavery to formerly enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1965, the last segment of people to receive the message after President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Juneteenth was made a national holiday in 2021 and is widely celebrated as both the end of slavery in the United States and as a commemoration of Black emancipation struggles generally.
The event’s talent show featured the talents of three local youth: one elementary school student, Kingston Dawson, a high school student, Dante Hall Jr. and a college student, Tayda J. As there were only three contestants, each one walked away with a cash prize.
Dawson sang a song. Hall, who had actually been crowned as Mr. Juneteenth in Florence last week, recited an original poem, and J. both recited a poem and sang a song. J. eventually won out, taking home a cash prize of $285.
“It’s been an amazing event all together, and I’m just happy that we’re taking a step forward as a community,” J. told LINK nky after the show.
Likewise, Bolden said after the show it was good “just to know that it has really opened up to be as big as it is and to be able to be right here at this community center, where so many of these people who came to enjoy the talent show grew up and even went to school here. And now they’re able to connect with the younger generation because of Juneteenth.”