by Larry Chowning –
A celebration of Juneteenth will be presented in Middlesex County on Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27, with a parade and activities on Saturday in Saluda and an outdoor gospel service and other events on Sunday at Lebanon Baptist Church.
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day, is a holiday to celebrate the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. The celebration originated in Galveston, Texas, and is now annually celebrated on June 19. Local Middlesex organizers decided to offer the celebration a week later — on June 26 and 27 — so it would not conflict with other ceremonies elsewhere.
Juneteenth references the date June and nineteenth, because on June 19, 1865 Union troops entered Galveston, Texas, and commander Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued a proclamation that stated, “The people of Texas are informed that . . . all slaves are free.”
The Juneteenth parade will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday on General Puller Highway (U.S. 17 Business Route) between Middlesex High School (MHS) and the Historic Middlesex Courthouse in Saluda.
At the celebration on Saturday at MHS, there will food trucks, the announcement of Mr. and Mrs. Juneteenth, Black-owned businesses and their owners will be highlighted and county first responders will be recognized…
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