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Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, will be commemorated in the coming days.
According to tradition, Juneteenth is observed on June 19 because it was on that date in 1865 that Union soldiers arriving in Galveston, Texas, at the end of the Civil War told African-American slaves there that they were free. No one knows with certainty how long the holiday has been celebrated. But the date now is recognized as a federal holiday.
Area residents will have the chance to participate in several events recognizing Monday’s holiday in the coming days.
Steubenville’s Juneteenth festival will be held Friday and Saturday at Second Baptist Church, 717 Adams St. It will feature activities, music, entertainment, food, informational booths, health screenings, vendors and speakers who will help to educate area residents about the importance of the holiday. In addition to Second Baptist, the partnership involves the city of Steubenville, Steubenville City Schools, Trinity Health System and Historic Fort Steuben. It will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
Weirton’s commemoration of the holiday is set for Saturday, with an ecumenical worship service scheduled to be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Morning Star Baptist Church, 3124 Weir Ave. Local clergy expected to participate include the Rev. James E. Brown of Morning Star Baptist Church; Bishop Darrell W. Cummings of Shiloh Apostolic Faith Assembly; the Rev. Rudy McAllister of Mount Olive Baptist Church; the Rev. Samuel Ware of St. Peter’s AME Church; and the Rev. Samuel Williams of Christ the King Family Worship Center.
Music will be provided by the Weirton Ecumenical Council Special Juneteenth Combined Choirs.
Ours is a nation based on the fundamental truth that all people are free. We view it as a God-given right.
But the United States, despite what was written in the Declaration of Independence, was not founded on the basis of liberty for all. Millions of African-Americans remained in slavery after we became a country.
That was a terrible, ugly stain on this nation — but, as historians understand, compromising with slave states when the Constitution was written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 probably was the only way the young republic could survive.
It was not until the Civil War that Americans confronted the evil of slavery head-on. And, with President Abraham Lincoln leading the way through the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans finally abolished slavery through the 13th Amendment, in 1865.
For too long after that, bigotry remained common in our country. It still rears its ugly head too frequently, and we must continue to work toward the day when that will end forever.
But Juneteenth celebrates the time when we as a nation — we as Americans — declared institutional discrimination had no place in our land. We as a people agreed that, at long last, it was time to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence.
That is something worth recognizing.
Juneteenth should be celebrated by all Americans — as a way to mark an important day in our nation’s history and as a reminder there remains a lot of work that needs to be done.
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