Juneteenth Celebration Planned For June 17

Clarke County’s second annual Juneteenth Celebration takes place from noon until until 8pm, June 17 at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, 890 West Main Street in Berryville. The event is hosted by the Josephine School Community Museum, the Josephine Improvement Association, and the Clarke County Training School–Johnson Williams High School Reunion Association.

As part of the education and understanding of the significance of June 19, 1865, the Ruritan Building will feature pictorial displays and videos depicting the journey to freedom from then (1865) to now. And the Horticulture Building will offer a silent auction with donations from local generous donors, as well as a ‘Proud to Serve’ art dis- play, a genealogist and several other informative vendors.

TV personalities Allison Seymour of WUSA9 and husband Marc Clarke return this year as emcees for the afternoon. There will be reenactments of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, musical entertainment for everyone — from a little gospel by Rev. Hassie Howard and the Gospel Travelers to African Drumming and Dancers by Jona, followed by R&B by The Special Occasion Band.

The Buffalo Soldiers will present the U.S. flag and honor a local deceased Buffalo Soldier. There will be a 4,000-flag slave memorial, MLA Mime from Washington, DC, a presentation from local architectural historian Maral Kalbian on Afri- can American historical sites in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, a brief history of Josephine City, and a powerful MLK impersonation. There will be activities for the children from face painting to balloon twisting, a moon bounce and other games. And of course, there will be various art & craft vendors as well as a variety of food vendors.

Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House two months earlier in

Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

Juneteenth (officially Juneteenth National Independence Day) is now a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of African-American slaves. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture. In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday; several others followed suit over the years. In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday; President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.

For event details, more Juneteenth history, and to donate, visit juneteenth2023.myevent.com.