Juneteenth celebrations: This is how Rock Hill, Chester are celebrating emancipation
Rock Hill and Chester will celebrate the liberation of Black Americans this weekend, commemorating the holiday of Juneteeth.
This year there’s another cause for celebration. President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday making Juneteenth, or June 19, a federal holiday that honors the end of slavery in the United States, the AP reported.
Juneteenth is the first new federal holiday since 1983. The last one was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously; only 14 House Republicans opposed the bill.
This bill will mean that some government buildings will be closed on June 19; stock market trading will most likely be suspended, and federal government employees will be paid for the holiday.
Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, commemorates the day the last enslaved Black Americans were informed they were free. Though the emancipation proclamation had freed slaves about two and a half years earlier, it was on June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers brought the news to Galveston, Texas.
Juneteenth has been celebrated informally since 1865, according to the U.S. Library of Congress. Texas was the first state to make June 19 an official state holiday in 1979.
Fourty-seven states, including South Carolina and North Carolina, recognize Juneteenth as a holiday, but only four offer a paid holiday to state employees (Texas, Washington, New York and Virginia).
Rock Hill Celebrates
Due to COVID-19, Rock Hill’s celebration will be virtual for the second consecutive year.
On Friday, at Food Truck Friday at Fountain Park, members of the Juneteenth Rock Hill board will have tables set up to tell people about the holiday and invite them to a virtual celebration on Saturday.
On Saturday, Juneteeth Rock Hill will air a live celebration to their Facebook page, at facebook.com/juneteenthrockhill, at 6:30 p.m. The livestream will include performances by musicians, dancers and poets.
Juneteenth Rock Hill also will announce the winners of the Ann Cain Scholarship, a scholarship offered to an African American senior in Rock Hill who intends to major in education. Cain, an educator, was an instrumental part of the first celebration in 2015, said Sabrina Miles, a Juneteenth Rock Hill board member.
Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys sat down with Miles to talk about this year’s celebration in a video posted by the city.
Rock Hill started observing Juneteenth in 2015, Miles said. Members of Mount Prospect Baptist Church, on Black Street, organized a celebration in old town Rock Hill.
Before COVID-19, Rock Hill had a lively celebration each year, Miles said. Combining fun with education, the weekend would include music and activities, as well as speakers who talked about Black history.
“There’s so much history here that nobody has ever heard of,” she said. “We want to have more participation from the community, we want this to be a city-wide celebration.”
“The Juneteenth celebration in Rock Hill has grown. There are great things to come, and this time next year we’ll be so excited to get back to normal,” Gettys said.
Juneteenth in Chester
Online Celebration
The city of Chester will host its own online celebration starting Friday, also on Facebook live, on the Facebook page “Juneteeth Celebration - Chester.”
The event had about 5,000 viewers last year, organizer Sheka Houston said.
This year’s theme is “breaking chains to breaking ceilings.”
On Friday, speaker Alexander Brown will give a speech called “the State of Black America Address,” aired at 5 p.m; speaker Pete Stone will also deliver a speech, titled “Call for Unity.”
Performers will continue to be announced leading up to Friday. Panel discussions will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. on Facebook live.
“We’re hoping to be able to do something in person next year,” Houston said.
In-person Celebration
A cookout will take place in the city of Chester on Friday, calling for celebration of “Freedom Day,” a press release said. The event will take place at Rebobath AME Zion Church, at 2640 Lancaster Highway in Chester.
Hotdogs and refreshments will be provided.
The event is hosted by York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey; Charles Brave, president of the South Carolina Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, which is known for its suppot of liberal or progressive policies; Lawrence More, director and chair of Carolina For All; and members of the Local Pastoral Alliance.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 7:58 AM.
