On January 1, 1863, United States President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that “all persons held as slaves within rebellious states are, and henceforward, shall be free.”
The executive order, issued in the middle of the Civil War, altered the legal status of more than 3.5 million African Americans from enslaved to free. Although, as the war persisted, many African Americans remained enslaved.
Following two additional years of battle and roughly 620,000 total American deaths, the war came to a end on April 9, 1865. Over two months later, on June 19, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, announcing that more than 250,000 enslaved people in the state, were free by executive decree.
The day came to be known as “Juneteenth” by those newly freed in Texas.
Three years ago in 2021, the United States Senate unanimously passed a bill to establish the date of June 19th as a national holiday, named Juneteenth. Days later, President Joe Biden signed the bill into law, establishing the nation’s twelfth federal holiday.
This past weekend, local citizens took part in the 3rd Annual Sandersville Juneteenth celebrations.
On Friday, June 14, a Community Prayer and Praise event was held at the T.J. Elder Community Center.
The following day, a Freedom Pride Parade kick-started a full Saturday of events including: gospel singing, an empowerment hour, a yard party, a concert, and fireworks.
As a part of the on-stage entertainment, Sandersville Mayor Jimmy Andrews, Sandersville Chief of Police Victor Cuyler, and Washington County Recreation Department Director Aaron McCalvin addressed the crowd to engage in conversations with the youth and the concerns they feel in the community.
Mayor Andrews, Chief Cuyler, and Director McCalvin spoke on the proper channels to advocate for needs and encouraged the youth to stay engaged in the community, as they are “the leaders of tomorrow.”
Today, all city hall and non-emergency departments in the City of Sandersville are closed in the observance of Juneteenth. Although, Thursday garbage route homes and businesses will have their trash picked up.
For utility outages in Sandersville, please adhere to the following instructions:
1) Call 478-552-2525
2.) Listen for the correct prompt
3.) Leave a detailed message with your name, address, phone number, and the nature of your call.
An after-hours on-call technician will be dispatched.
