Message from Councilwoman Elizabeth Stamler | June 20, 2025
The weather should not be a factor tomorrow when Scotch Plains holds its rescheduled Juneteenth celebration at Shady Rest Golf & Country Club. The annual event was originally washed out last Saturday, and we are more than pleased that we can now hold this outdoor festival under sunny skies on the first full day of summer.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday that marks a pivotal moment in American history: the effective end of slavery in the United States. On this day in 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, TX to announce the freedom of enslaved African Americans — two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation legally ended slavery.
This delayed liberation highlights a central theme of Juneteenth: the gap between the promise of freedom and its actual realization.
It is important for all of us to celebrate Juneteenth, as it is often called “America’s true Independence Day.” Many, including me, sees the emancipation as a pivotal moment when our country began living up to its founding ideals of liberty and equality for all.
So, please join us tomorrow at historic Shady Rest – the first private African-American country club in the United States – at 820 Jerusalem Road, from noon to 7 p.m. The event is free and everyone is urged to stop by.
There is a full schedule of events listed in this week’s edition of the Messenger, to include live entertainment, a DJ, family activities, a vendor marketplace and food trucks. The theme of the day is “Harambee: Pull Together to Honor Our Past, Build Our Future, and Celebrate FREEDOM.”
I would like to express my appreciation to the event organizer - Social Justice Matters, Inc. The event is also a partnership with Scotch Plains and Fanwood, with support from PSEG and a 2025 HEART Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.
Let’s all join in this teachable moment to confront the history of slavery and its lasting impact, fostering important conversations about race, justice, and the unfinished work of achieving true equality.
To learn more, please visit socialjusticematters.org or email
