Samantha Willis with her boys, Davey and Darius, reading “Juneteenth for Mazie” (Photo by Jay Paul)
The first time I remember hearing the word “Juneteenth,” I was a kid with a toothy smile squirming my way through another long church service.
Somebody made an announcement about a neighboring church’s upcoming Juneteenth celebration, and it puzzled me. I knew what a celebration was, and I knew that June meant summertime; but what was Juneteenth? The next week at church, I asked my aunt about it during Sunday school. It would be years before I understood the full significance of Juneteenth, an annual observance of the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865. But my aunt’s response, though I can’t recall her exact words, provided the basis of what my husband, Jamaal, and I are trying to teach our boys as we celebrate this month: Juneteenth is a happy holiday when black people honor our freedom through food, fellowship and family. And in Richmond, a former epicenter of the slave trade, Juneteenth is a great way to share with young people a richer, more inclusive perspective of our collective history.
Background
The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on Jan. 1, 1863, effectively ending the enslavement of African-Americans. But “slave owners in Mississippi, Louisiana and other points east had been migrating to Texas to escape the Union Army’s reach” for at least a year beforehand, writes historian and author Henry Louis Gates Jr. There were more than 250,000 black men, women and children still enslaved in Texas when the Union Army’s Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued orders freeing them in mid-June 1865.
Freedmen in Texas observed the first Juneteenth celebration a year later, on June 19, 1866. Year after year thereafter, African-American families and communities in Texas reunited on Juneteenth and remembered the day they or their forebears became free at last. These festival-like events included “readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, religious sermons and spirituals,” plus plenty of barbecue, writes Gates. There was no shortage of games and entertainment at Juneteenth in Texas, Gates says, “from baseball to rodeos and, later, stock car races and overhead flights.” Through the years, the celebration slowly spread from state to state, and numerous black communities nationwide, especially in the South, observed the occasion in their own ways. Virginia lawmakers passed a resolution in 2007 making Juneteenth a state holiday; nearly all 50 states have done the same.
A Juneteenth event at James Madison’s Montpelier (Photo courtesy James Madison’s Montpelier)
Join in Juneteenth
My husband and I have used a few children’s books to help us explain the concept of Juneteenth to our boys, ages 4 and 1.
“Juneteenth for Mazie,” written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper, depicts a young girl’s discovery of the holiday through her family’s present-day observance of it. Mazie — like our eldest, David, doesn’t like bedtime; in fact, rules generally rub this free-spirited child the wrong way. Mazie’s dad compares her perceived lack of freedom to the actual lack of freedom her “Great, Great, Great Grandpa Mose” endured as a slave. Through this lesson, Mazie learns the meaning of liberty and goes on to celebrate Juneteenth surrounded by her loving family.
Elementary-age children may enjoy the beautiful picture book “All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom,” by Angela Johnson. Told from the perspective of a girl enslaved on a Texas plantation, this story helps kids picture what it would be like to be suddenly freed from a life of bondage. “Can you imagine that?” we asked David after reading “All Different Now” for the first time. His wide-eyed “Wow!” confirmed for us that this book is an awesome tool for teaching Juneteenth.
Middle schoolers may enjoy “Juneteenth: Freedom Day,” by Richmond author and retired educator Muriel Miller Branch.
When you’re ready to venture beyond the pages, there are several local and regional Juneteenth events awaiting your discovery. The Elegba Folklore Society introduced its annual Juneteenth celebration in Richmond in 1996, holding the event each third weekend in June. This year, it’s slated for June 14-16, and as in past years, it will feature dance, African art, speakers and children’s activities.
Is your family up for a road trip? Check out this year’s Juneteenth celebration at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County, which will include open-hearth cooking demonstrations by culinary historian Leni Sorenson, the Boys and Girls Club of Orange African Drum Circle, gospel singing, and walking tours of the plantation. A buffet lunch rounds out the offerings ($14 for adults, $7 for kids).
There are lots of other Juneteenth celebrations happening statewide, too; Google is your friend.
Four hundred years ago this year, the first representative legislative assembly in the New World formed in Virginia. In that same year, 1619, the first enslaved Africans arrived at Virginia’s shores. As parents, we’re celebrating Juneteenth with our kids this year because it’s a fun, meaningful way to observe a historic time in our state and nation’s history.
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