Juneteenth at Mitchelville to feature music, food … and birds

The annual Juneteenth Celebration at Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 17.

Juneteenth is a national holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, not all enslaved people were freed.

Over the next many months, Union soldiers spread the news across the south. Finally, on June 19, 1865, all remaining enslaved people were freed. That day became known as Juneteenth.

The local celebration attracts thousands of participants each year to celebrate freedom with historic commemorations, music, food and vendors.

This year, it will include a unique presentation by Hilton Head Audubon. The organization plans to unveil its results of research, supported by a grant from National Audubon, on the importance of birds and nature in the Gullah Geechee community at the time of the founding of Mitchelville.

Established in 1862 on Hilton Head Island, Mitchelville is the first place in the U.S. where Africans in America, just out of slavery and not yet citizens, governed themselves.

Hilton Head Audubon’s presence at the celebration will include an information booth, where they will offer information about their bird research, as well as materials about the local organization, birding and conservation.

They will also feature a craft table near the back of the area, where they will engage children and spirited adults by creating pinecone feeders, owl eyesight vision paper towel binoculars, and origami swans.

Hilton Head Audubon will also lead bird walks from the craft table through the woods and on to Fish Haul Beach, a noted birding area where more than 230 bird species have been identified.

Helping Hilton Head Audubon to prepare their Gullah-related research is a collaboration with USC-Beaufort through their Student Connected program, which inspires students across all disciplines by offering opportunities for fieldwork, research, internships and service learning with local partners.

Students in Associate Professor Sarah Swofford’s professional writing class is helping to prepare the materials to be shared during the Juneteenth Celebration.

The Park is located at 40 Harriet Tubman Way (off Beach City Road) on Hilton Head Island. For more information, visit exploremitchelville.org.