By Ronni Newton on We-Ha.com on June 20, 2021
West Hartford’s second annual Juneteenth celebration, held over the weekend of June 19-20, 2021, was full of joy juxtaposed by serious messages and actions, with the observation culminating late Sunday morning as a crowd gathered for the rededication of the town’s green as Unity Green.
West Hartford’s town green – that narrow triangle of land that splits the northbound and southbound lanes of South Main Street just south of Farmington Avenue and is the longtime site of banners and public gatherings – had previously been named Goodman Green, in honor of Timothy Goodman, who deeded it to First Church, which in turn has leased the land to the town since 1924. Recent research into the town’s history conducted as part of the Witness Stones project brought to light the fact that, along with some of West Hartford’s other prominent families for whom roadways and buildings have been named, Goodman was, indeed, a slaveholder. Continue reading.
