Jacksonville Juneteenth commemoration celebrates freedom, family and African-American history

Freedom, African-American history and families were at the forefront Saturday during the seventh annual Juneteenth in Jacksonville commemoration at the historic Ritz Theatre and Museum downtown.

Hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation, the event celebrated African-American Emancipation. Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, is the oldest known African-American celebration marking the ending of slavery in the United States.

"It's our people's story. …We need to know it 'cause it's important," replied Elijah Pope, 6, who came to the event with his mom, Cashondra.

"I want him to know and understand our history … and to never give up, no matter how hard life is," she said.

Their family recently moved to Jacksonville from Baltimore, and she wanted her son to learn about the city's black history, she said.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War ended and that the enslaved were free. It was 2 1/2 years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which was official on Jan. 1, 1863.

"It's a milestone on our march to freedom and march to equality," said Walter P. Miller Jr., a member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation's board of directors. "So we hold it up as a celebration of freedom, a celebration of how far we've come. But it is also a mark showing we're on the middle of the mountain, and the struggle still continues."

Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19, and it is recognized as a state holiday or a day of observance in 45 states, historians say.

"Juneteenth is the celebration of the end of the military campaign to free the slaves here in the United States," Miller said. "It didn't end slavery because slavery was still legal in Maryland and Delaware, but it represents the military's bringing the last holdout of the Confederacy back into the union and the initiation of the Emancipation Proclamation."

The all-day celebration offered a kid's zone with old-fashioned games like hopscotch, chess and checkers, pop-up shops such as Southern Market Southern Biscuit, a clothing boutique, music and food. In addition, a number of organizations and community groups had informational booths.

Young people, Miller said, are crucial to continue the struggle for freedom and equality that Juneteenth symbolizes.

"When you talk to young people about overcoming their problems, they have to know that with perspiration, prayer and perseverance, we can overcome any of these obstacles, and that includes obstacles like violence in the neighborhood, police brutality and the disenfranchising of minority youths," he said.

While those things might seem insurmountable, Miller said, they can be conquered.

"One thing that we've noticed is minority youth that understand their heritage excel in whatever they're doing. They are not problem children, so anything we can do to help to lift up our youth, we should do," Miller said of the importance of passing on the history of Juneteenth.

Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075