Celebrating Juneteenth

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

Published: June 12, 2008

On a standard-issue office supply store generic desk calendar, there are only two holidays printed. June 14 is marked as Flag Day, and Father’s Day is written in the following square. But there’s one more holiday that’s not marked in the little squares, yet profoundly important to American culture-Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.
While the day marks a significant event in American history, it’s not a well-known date.
The celebration memorializes June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger brought news to people in Galveston, Texas that the war had ended and enslaved people were free. Although President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation came in 1863, people throughout the south remained in the bonds of slavery until the war’s end. Now, states officially celebrate the beginning of freedom as Juneteenth, a colloquialism for the date of Granger’s message. 
Locally, the Orange County African American Historical Society (OCAAHS) and The Arts Center in Orange are partnering for a Juneteeth celebration.
OCAAHS president Rebecca Gilmore Coleman said Juneteenth’s importance to American history and culture has gone largely unrecognized.
“It is a time in the history of this country that all too often is not talked about or taught in our school systems,” she said.
But by teaming up to host a ceremony, the OCAAHS and Arts Center in Orange are taking a step to enhance local awareness of the occasion.
The site for this year’s celebration is important to the history of African Americans in Orange. Nearby Short Street and Railroad Avenue were the locations of some of the first businesses established by freedmen at the turn of the last century.
From 5 p.m. until 8 p.m., activities will be held on the lawn at Robertson Memorial Fountain Plaza near the Orange Train Station, including a drum call and percussion presentation by Darrel Rose with William Whitten. Lillie Williams will perform African dance. A number of local choirs will sing at the celebration: Shady Grove Baptist Church Male Choir, Emanuel Baptist Church Youth Choir, and Little Zion Baptist Church Male Choir and the Charlottesville Community Drum Choir.
And at the Arts Center in Orange, people of all ages can celebrate and learn more about Juneteenth with art, history and food. Children can participate in free art activities with Annie Greene and Darrell Rose.
The Arts Center is hosting two exhibits which are particularly relevant to the special day. Don’t Grieve After Me: The Black Experience in Virginia uses photographs to explore central themes in African American history. Additionally, highlights from the 2007 Montpelier Slave Descendants Reunion will be on display.
Local caterer Beggar’s Banquet’s “southern comfort platters” will keep Juneteenth celebrators well nourished.
For more information, contact the Arts Center in Orange. 672-7311.