One year after it was declared a federal holiday, Elberton will host a Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 18 through Monday, June 20.
“It’s also the first year that it is a holiday in Georgia. It’s a big to-do. We’re proud that it’s now a Georgia state holiday as well as a federal holiday,” Aurolyn Hamm White, of the Jim-Ree Museum, said.
“Juneteenth, or June 19, 1865, is considered the date when the last slaves in America were freed,” according to “The Black Church and Juneteenth,” written by Charles Taylor. “Although the rumors of freedom were widespread prior to this, actual emancipation did not come until General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and issued General Order No. 3 on June 19, almost two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”
Aurolynn White said Juneteenth can even be linked to Elbert County through William Henry Heard’s book “From Slavery to the Bishopric in the AME Church.”
“He talks about when he found out that slaves were free,” Aurolynn White said. “He doesn’t give a date like June 19, but you can just imagine it was in the summer because he was talking about he was outside in the fields. He was outside in the fields plowing. You just get the feel that it was probably the same time.”
The local weekend celebration, sponsored by Pinnacle Bank, Clark and Clark Law Group, Granite City Life Skills, Main Street Elberton, the Elbert County Chamber of Commerce, Concerned Citizens of Elbert County, Concerned Men of Elbert County, the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, WSGC Radio and the Jim-Ree African American Museum, will kick off Saturday morning at 9 a.m. with “a joyful celebration at the Jim-Ree Museum.”
The celebration will include a musician, Leslie Davis, from the Elberton High School Class of 1971 as the speaker. Jim-Ree Musuem founders Jimmy O. White and Aurolyn Hamm White said Davis was part of the first class to graduate after integration in Elbert County.
The celebration will then continue with an author’s forum boasting local authors doing a question and answer session with attendees. The morning will then conclude with bingo.
Tours around the Jim-Ree Musuem may also be possible during the morning, time permitting.
After a two-hour hiatus, the day will continue at 4 p.m. on the downtown square with vendors, DJ Tremble, a performance by Hamp2Live, a one-man band, and music and broadcasting from WSGC Radio.
Sunday afternoon, “a freedom celebration (Gospel Explosion)” will be held at the Blackwell Memorial Cultural Center at 4 p.m. Doors will open at 3 p.m. and the afternoon will include various gospel groups and speakers John Clark and Ronald Gantt.
A trio of events will take place Monday to conclude the weekend, beginning with “a community healing celebration” at the Burke Street Gym and “a youth celebration” at the Mill Street Gym. Both events will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m.
The community healing celebration will include free health checks and door prizes while the youth celebration will include activities and a car and bike show.
Nurses from The Athens Nurses Clinic will be on staff at the community healing celebration offering vaccines as well as blood tests. Anyone who has received an initial or second vaccine, booster or second booster after Feb. 1, 2022 can bring their vaccine card and ID and receive a $50 Walmart gift card.
The day will conclude with a youth oratorical competition sponsored by the Martin Luther King
Jr. Committee and the Elbert County Planning Committee, Inc. at the Blackwell Cultural Center.
The oration will answer questions including the history behind Juneteenth, the definition of Juneteenth and information about when it became a federal and state holiday and who signed it into legislation. Speeches must be two to three minutes long.
Prizes will be given for first place – $300, second place – $200 and third place – $100.
Jimmy and Aurolyn White said each event throughout the weekend will include aspects of African American culture.
“A sense of pride and the awareness of Juneteenth” is what Jimmy and Aurolyn said they hope the community gets from the activities during the weekend.
“They should also realized what happened in Texas happened all over the United States,” Aurolyn said. “The same thing happened here. Not with Granger, but with some other person, some other soldiers that came out, letting people know that they were free.”
The Whites also said the events are open to everyone, regardless of race.
“The spirit of Juneteenth encompasses all races,” Jimmy said. “It’s a holistic kind of celebration among the people here.”