Hamilton School students get history lesson during Juneteenth Carnival

Students at Hamilton School celebrated Juneteenth on Friday with a carnival that featured a slew of activities and games that brought the school community together with a message of historical significance.

The children gathered in the courtyard to enjoy a day of fun with activities that included bouncy castles, face-painting, inflatable basketball, cornhole, Double Dutch and pickup ping pong, which was extra challenging amid the brisk wind.

Lisa Morris, reading and literacy teacher at Hamilton, spearheaded the effort to organize the carnival as part of her role as coordinator of multicultural activities. 

The event was held to teach the children about freedom in the spirit of Juneteenth, which marked the day in 1865 when Union troops brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas.

The holiday, which has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations, was designated a federal holiday in 2021.

Ms. Morris said the Juneteenth Carnival was the “culmination of all the hard work by the students from their fundraising throughout the year. It is basically their reward.”

Shortly after getting her face painted, fifth-grader Azealia Tapper summed up her thoughts about the holiday’s significance.

“It marks a day when Africans could finally be free and they cut off their shackles,” she said. “It means a lot to me – we stand on the shoulders of those who were freed.”