• Juneteenth Celebration

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    Name: Juneteenth Celebration
    Date: June 17, 2023
    Time: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM EDT
    Website: https://www.effinghamherald.net/local/effingham-county-branch-naacp-host-juneteenth-celebration/
    Event Description:
    The Effingham County Branch NAACP's Juneteenth Celebration will take place Saturday, June 17 from 11am-4 pm at the at the campus of the former Springfield Central High School, 434 Wallace Dr., Springfield. There will be speakers, entertainers, food and drinks provided at no cost to those who attend.

    The high school, which received a Georgia Historical Marker in 2021, was a grade 1-12 school for the county’s black students from the mid-1950s until the schools were integrated in 1970. The site is owned by the county and continues to be used as a recreational site.

    The 2023 Juneteenth celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include food trucks, venders, children’s activities and presentations showcasing African-American life before, during, and after slavery, including the extended Effingham County community.

    Event organizers are looking for local talent that showcase African and African-American experiences from the past, present, and future for the celebration. Anyone interested in participating in this event may call Cloyce Gardner at 912-484-4857 or Lucy Powell at 912-772-3515, or the Effingham County Branch NAACP's secretary, Gladys Smalls, at 912-441-7169.

    Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of the slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. In fact, these former slaves had been freed already by the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863.

    However, the news traveled slowly in those days, and the freed "slaves" did not know that they had been freed. On June 19, 1865, Union troops in Galveston, Texas, informed the slaves that indeed they were freed. As one can imagine, quite a celebration took place!

    Over the many years, the celebration, which became an annual event in Texas, began to expand. Juneteenth has been celebrated in the South in an increasing fashion, including, of course, in Georgia, most notably in Savannah. Here in Effingham County, the NAACP began its annual celebration in 2019.

    On June 18, 2021,  President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday. June 19 will henceforth be known as Juneteenth National Independence Day..

    Location:
    The Former Springfield Central High School
    434 Wallace Drive
    Springfield, GA 31329
    Date/Time Information:
    Saturday, June 17 from 11am-4 pm
    Contact Information:
    Anyone interested in participating in this event may call Cloyce Gardner at 912-484-4857 or Lucy Powell at 912-772-3515, or the Effingham County Branch NAACP's secretary, Gladys Smalls, at 912-441-7169.
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