When ValLimar Jansen takes the stage as keynote speaker for this year’s Juneteenth celebration, she’ll bring more than prepared remarks. She’ll carry memory, legacy and a deep conviction about what it means to live free.
The celebration – scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Quaremba Hall, campus of Saint Michael Church, Atlantic City – commemorates June 19, 1865, when news of emancipation reached the last remaining enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.
“It’s an honor,” Jansen says of the invitation. “I hope that I can connect this Juneteenth celebration to inspire people to carry the torch of freedom forward.”
Born in Texas and raised in Louisiana, Jansen’s connection to the holiday is both personal and ancestral. Her roots trace back to people who were enslaved, and for her, Juneteenth is a powerful reminder of how transformative knowledge can be.
“My role is to honor the legacy of that delayed freedom,” she says, “and to keep the hope alive in the face of all oppression.”
As a faith leader, recording artist and educator, Jansen wants to call attention to the ongoing struggle for equality and freedom – and to the full potential of every human being.
This year’s celebration, which will be interfaith and multicultural, is being sponsored by the Diocese’s Black Catholic Ministry Commission, Atlantic City’s Parish of Saint Monica and the diocesan Office of Life & Justice Ministries.
Jansen believes her message will reflect a sacred and universal truth grounded in love, peace and joy. Juneteenth is a celebration not only of freedom, she says, but of resilience, creativity and community. It’s also a time to reckon with the ongoing impact of systemic inequality, while uplifting the triumphs that persist in spite of it.
“Our faith is supposed to help us wrestle with the hard truths of the world. In the end, love should always win,” she says.
When asked who comes to mind during Juneteenth, she doesn’t hesitate to recall her mother.
A second-grade teacher and the daughter of a Baptist preacher, Jansen’s mother modeled the deep connection between faith and civic life. “She taught me there was no separation. Civic responsibility and faith were one.”
Jansen remembers childhood afternoons spent cutting out magazines to make posters for holidays. Her mother’s wisdom, shared in both joyful and painful moments, continues to guide her today. When Jansen was 13, she lived on a U.S. Air Force base with her family. One day, she wore her hair in an afro for the first time. On the bus ride home, someone spat on her. When she got home, her mother gently washed her hair and offered a message that would stay with her forever:
“She said, ‘Return love for hate. Always,’” Jansen recalls.
As she prepares to share Scripture and personal stories later this month, Jansen hopes to leave the audience with a sense of renewed commitment. “I want people to leave with hope, purpose and clarity,” she says, “Each of us has a sacred, special gift that only we can bring to the world.”
Father Vincent Guest, coordinator of the Diocese’s Black Catholic Ministry Commission, agrees.
“Juneteenth is an important day for all Americans,” he said, putting extra emphasis on the word “all.” “It is a day to remember, give thanks and continue to work for racial justice in our country.”
“The Juneteenth holiday also reminds us that there is work to be done. We must remember that racism is not just unkind or ‘politically incorrect,’ but a sin,” continued Father Guest, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Camden.
“In this month of the Sacred Heart, I pray we can all conform our hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus – a heart of love and compassion. As followers of Jesus, we all have a part to play to eradicate the sin and evil of racism.”
For more information, call (856) 365-0573. The event has a suggested offering of $10. Quaremba Hall is located on the campus of Saint Michael Church, the Parish of Saint Monica, 15 N. Georgia Ave., Atlantic City.
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