Juneteenth is the oldest national celebration of the ending of slavery in the United States. To celebrate, many Community Health Centers, founded nearly 60 years ago in the struggle against racism, organize and participate in local events. In Knoxville, TN, NACHC member Cherokee Health Systems is hosting an event that will include a performance, food, and a Black history walk led by Dr. Eboni Winford, their Director of Research and Health Equity. Dr. Winford sees a direct parallel between Juneteenth and the health center mission:
“The celebration of Juneteenth is connected to the heart of Community Health Centers, which were established during the Civil Rights Movement. In a time when people were fighting to end discrimination in multiple domains, civil rights leaders determined that the communities – who were laying their lives on the line and fighting for equality and human dignity – were not having their healthcare needs met.
Again, the ones who were in the most danger were the last to receive access to resources and services that could prolong their lives and prevent and reduce morbidities. This is a direct parallel to the origin of Juneteenth—the delayed awareness that slavery, with the exception of as a punishment for crime, was no longer legal. The last to find out and the last to receive help.
Health centers are bastions of healthcare access, medical protection, and quality care. Who better to commemorate the day when those who were most marginalized were informed of their right to freedom than those who provide a right to healthcare for all — regardless of their identities, their histories, or their ability to pay?”
The Juneteenth history walk evolved from the “Walk with a Doc” program
Cherokee Health Systems has, for a number of months, conducted a “Walk with a Doc” program for staff, patients, and anyone who wants to come. Participants can simply show up and walk the easy one-mile course, conversing with one of the doctors who specializes in an area of interest.
The course has always been at a local park; however, when CHS started talking about Juneteenth, it was suggested that the walk be moved to the historic part of town where one of their clinics is located and where so much history happened. The event “took legs from there,” says Winford, as more people became involved and interested.
Highlighting the local history of the East Knox neighborhood
Cherokee Health System’s East Knox Health Center is located in the heart of an area which was greatly affected by Urban Renewal in the 1960s. The clinic building was renovated from the original constructed by one of the first African American physicians in the area, Dr. Walter Hardy, who was forced from his original location by urban renewal. It is also located next to a historical park, named after Dr. Hardy, that celebrates some of Knoxville’s Black history including the legacy of Black physicians who served Knoxville between 1869 and 1989 who are honored via a pathway entitled “Doctor’s Row.”
Cultivating a sense of community with the neighborhood
The walk itself, designed by the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and organized by Virginia Weatherstone, Development Consultant at Cherokee Health Systems, highlights six sites of importance to the Black community in Knoxville.
“Some folks will be familiar with these sites while others will not,” says Winford. “The explanation of these sites and the walking conversations will be eye-opening for many about what it has been like to be Black in Knoxville over the years.”
Winford says that Cherokee Health Systems hopes to “cultivate a sense of community with residents of the East Knoxville community that extends beyond the typical workday. We want to demonstrate our commitment to the history and service that current and past residents of East Knoxville have created and sustain to this day.”
A personal connection to the Divine Nine and Juneteenth
Dr. Winford, who is also a licensed psychologist working at the East Knox clinic, leads the walk. In addition to feeling connected to the East Knox community and having a lived experience associated with the Black legacy honored via this walk, Dr. Winford was inspired to participate because of her connection to the Grandmother of Juneteenth, Opal Lee. Both are members of one of the Nine Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities that comprise the National Panhellenic Council, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
Thanks to sponsorship from a family foundation, the walk will conclude with a celebration at the nearby Walter Hardy Park where the walk leader will talk about the history of Juneteenth itself.
“We will sample soul food and see a presentation by ‘Drums Up, Guns Down,’ a youth drumming group established recently to counter some violence which had rocked a nearby high school,” says Winford. “This group and their djembe drums have achieved a level of recognition and are a treat to hear in person.”