Named for Bay Miwok tribe that inhabited area

By Antioch Recreation Department

Join us on Saturday, August 5th, as we welcome Antioch’s newest park into our community. Named after the Bay Miwok indigenous tribes Julpun Park is located at 5500 Sierra Trail Way. The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 11:00 am.

According to the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, “Identified in Father Narciso Duran’s topographical map in 1824, the Julpun lived in the northeastern corner of the East Bay, probably including present-day Oakley, Brentwood and some of Antioch.  Thus, their land included the confluence of the San Joaquin River and lower Marsh Creek. Initially many of them moved eastward and northward into the delta rather than submit to the mission system.  A few went to Mission Dolores in 1806 and Mission San Jose from 1806-1808, with 108 more entering Mission San Jose by 1813.  (Author Randall) Milliken (in his book entitled, Time of Little Choice) lists a total of 141 Julpuns baptized by 1819.

John Marsh bought his Rancho Los Meganos from Jose Noriega in 1837, an area which included the Julpun’s territory; he called the Indians there ‘Pulpunes’.  Julpuns may have returned to their homeland to work for Marsh after Mission San Jose was secularized in 1836.”

By Allen D. Payton

During the Antioch Juneteenth Celebration event a few years ago, I shared the fact with a few people, mainly youth, in attendance, that Juneteenth and the ending of slavery in the U.S. was the result of the efforts of the Republican Party, and some of them were shocked and even argued with me. I was surprised they hadn’t learned that in their history classes in school. So, here’s a little history about the day and celebration.

Deriving its name by combining June and nineteenth – Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. But while it became a national holiday in 2021 through a bill by a Democrat U.S. Senator and signed into law by Democrat President Joe Biden as the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, the day it celebrates occurred thanks to the Republican Party. Known as the Grand Old Party or GOP, the party was formed in 1854 to fight the expansion of slavery into the Western territories and ultimately abolish it. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican to be elected president and under his leadership fought and won the Civil War to end slavery in the United States.

It’s the main reason the first Black U.S. Senators and Members of Congress were Republican, virtually all Black Americans voted Republican until the 1936 and the GOP continued to receive a large percent of the Black vote well into the 1950s and 1960s. A few other facts  you might find surprising is that it was Republicans who founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on February 12, 1909, the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and reparations were originally a Republican idea. It was Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman who issued Special Field Orders No. 15, giving 40 acres of land to freed slave families and later ordered the army to lend mules for the agrarian reform effort, as a means to provide for themselves and own an asset to pass on to future generations. It was reversed by Democrat Andrew Johnson, who became president following Lincoln’s assassination and issued a proclamation that returned the lands to southern owners.

Back to Juneteenth, it was on June 19, 1865 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, a Republican career U.S. Army officer, arrived at Galveston, Texas  announcing that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

It was a little over two months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, setting in motion the end of the war. A wave of Confederate surrenders followed. As a practical matter, the war ended with the May 26 surrender of the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, but the conclusion of the American Civil War lacks a clear and precise historical end date. Confederate ground forces continued surrendering past the May 26 surrender date until June 23. 

It was two and a half years after President Lincoln signed his Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 freeing all slaves in Confederate states. Granger issued General Order No. 3 further informing Texas – the most remote state of the former Confederacy – of, and enforcing the proclamation, just two months after Lincoln’s assassination.

When issued, the Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the arrival of Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Later attempts to explain this two-and-a-half-year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another, is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All of which, or neither of these versions could be true. Certainly, for some, President Lincoln’s authority over the rebellious states was in question   For whatever the reasons, conditions in Texas remained status quo well beyond what was statutory.

Juneteenth has been celebrated in Texas since 1866, at first involving church-centered community gatherings in Texas. They spread across the South and became more commercialized in the 1920s and 1930s, often centering on a food festival. Participants in the Great Migration brought these celebrations to the rest of the country.

Happy Juneteenth, a holiday of freedom that we can all recognize and celebrate, while honoring those who fought and died to make it a reality!

Information also sourced from Juneteenth.com and the book From the Deck to the Sea: Blacks and the Republican Party.

Entertaining times are returning to the Antioch Historical Museum this June. Recalling the rollicking Roaring Twenties fun time at the pre-Covid “Funeral for a Gangster,” put on by Caught in the Act Theater in September, 2019, the Museum is bringing back the theater with their western themed mystery to solve, “Death Near Dead Man’s Holler.” Ticket holders will gather on Saturday evening at 5:00 until 9:00 p.m., June 17, 2023, in the Museum’s Riverview Room, dressed in their western finest, ready to dine on western BBQ vittles at 6:00, then solve the mystery. A no-host bar will be in the Saloon Room. There will be prizes for the best costumes and best detectives.

The early-bird ticket price of $65 ends June 4, 2023, before going up to $75. Tickets are available through Eventbrite, or by mailing a check for reservations to the Museum, 1500 W. 4th St., Antioch, CA, 94509. For further information, please call the Museum at 925-757-1326.

Purchase tickets on Eventbrite.

Vendor space available

Juneteenth Vendor Application (June 17th-19th, 2023) (jotform.com)

Honors the Giving of the 10 Commandments. Cheesecake anyone?

By Mashie Goldschmid, Chabad of the Delta

At a unique crossroads between religion and cuisine, the Holiday of Shavuot, celebrating the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai over 3,300 years ago, has become a celebration of fine dairy cuisine as well. Shavuot is celebrated for two days and this year the holiday celebrated on Friday and Saturday, May 26th and May 27th.

As the Torah was given, and the laws of kosher dining were first received, the Jewish People were not yet capable of properly preparing beef and poultry and as such ate dairy. The rest is history. Exquisite cheesecakes, ravioli, lasagna, Greek salad and of course, cheese blintzes all take center stage during this ancient celebration. Some suggest that this has contributed to the renewed popularity this holiday has seen.

When thinking Jewish Holidays, Passover, Chanukah and Yom Kippur come to mind. Nevertheless, Shavuot is considered one of Judaism’s major holidays and was in fact a “pilgrimage” when all of Israel would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate in the Temple.

“No, it isn’t all about the food,” said Rabbi Peretz Goldshmid of the Chabad Jewish Center. “What is important is that the community is joining together, hearing the Ten Commandments and celebrating the Torah. But the good food certainly helps!”

The Chabad Jewish center welcomes the community to it’s annual Ice Cream Party & Dairy Buffet on Friday May 26th at 5:00 PM.

The Shavuot celebration is free of charge, and all are welcome to join, regardless of Jewish affiliation or background. Special program and prizes for all children. RSVP appreciated JewishDelta.com/Shavuot or 925-420-4999

What is the holiday of Shavuot?

More than 3,300 years ago, the Jewish people received the Torah from G-d at Mount Sinai. Shavuot literally means “weeks” and marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. Shavuot customs include all-night Torah study, listening to the recitation of the Ten Commandments, the reading of the Book of Ruth, eating dairy products and adorning the synagogue and home with flowers.

About the Sponsoring Organization:

With unconditional love and acceptance, Chabad of the Delta is dedicated to enhancing Jewish awareness and pride in East Contra Costa.

Chabad offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations.

For more information or to RSVP, contact the Chabad at 925.420.4999 or visit online at JewishDelta.com/Shavuot.