Park Commemorates Juneteenth Freedom Celebration

Booker T. Washington National Monument and the Friends of Booker T. Washington National Monument commemorated “Juneteenth” on Saturday, June 20th, with a special event and free concert to the general public. Over 700 visitors attended this event.

Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom of those who were held in the bonds of slavery. It began in Texas on June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to issue General Order 3. This order did what the Emancipation Proclamation intended to do in January of 1863. Celebrations of freedom erupted in Texas.

At the age of nine, Booker T. Washington experienced emancipation in the spring of 1865 on the Burroughs Plantation. It was a moment he later recalled in his autobiography, Up from Slavery: “My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children, while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.”

The event began at 11:00 a.m. with the “Tears of Freedom” living history program, which placed the Burroughs family and their ten enslaved men, women, and children in the context of the Civil War. The moment of emancipation was then reenacted as described in Booker T. Washington’s memoirs. Living history participants acting as slaves took their first breath of freedom and celebrated while others portraying the Burroughs expressed disappointment as a Union soldier read the Emancipation Proclamation.

Booker T. Washington National Monument introduced its new superintendent, Carla Whitfield, followed by remarks from Virginia 5th District Congressman Tom Perriello and Franklin County District Supervisor Russell Johnson.

During the afternoon, live gospel music filled the air after the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” were performed. Performing gospel groups included Voices of Hope, Halesford Baptist Church Choir, Antonio Fitzgerald and the Chosen Generation, Pastor Dorothy Glass, and the Bolton Brothers. Jr. Ranger activities were available for children along with various information booths.

Organizations that helped to make the event possible include Friends of Booker T. Washington National Monument, Eastern National Bookstore, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia State Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Franklin County Department of Public Safety, Virginia Department of Transportation, Wendy Coleman (Mistress of Ceremony), Thomas Cook (Master of Ceremony), Dairy Queen of Moneta, and the Lake Inn Motel.