A Juneteenth celebration will be held next week at Holly Knoll.
Sponsored by the Juneteenth Celebration Committee (Gloucester NAACP, Mathews NAACP and the Gloucester Institute), the celebration will be held from 1-6 p.m. next Thursday, June 19, in and around the historic home of Dr. Robert Russa Moton, 3201 Leadership Drive, Gloucester. Moton (1867-1940) played a lasting role in creating educational opportunities for Black Americans in the decades following the Civil War.
Next week’s event will include music, food, a fashion show and a car show. The program’s keynote speaker will be Devon M. Henry, founder and CEO of Team Henry Enterprises, a nationally recognized contracting firm based in Richmond.
A well-known orator, Henry has garnered national acclaim throughout his speaking career, engaging audiences across the United States with his speeches and insights on entrepreneurship, leading through uncertainty, dismantling Confederate statues, and erecting counter monuments.
The day’s festivities will commence at 9 a.m. with the Opal Lee Walk, starting at the Gloucester Library, Main Street Center. Lee, often described as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” led the movement to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday. Celebrated annually on June 19, Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States.
For more information on the Gloucester Juneteenth celebration, call Pam Garner at 804-651-4736.
At Jamestown
In honor of Juneteenth, Jamestown Settlement will host Prelude to Juneteenth with a day of special programming this Sunday and will observe the official holiday by offering free admission on June 19.
Prelude to Juneteenth, at 1 p.m. Sunday, will explore the precarious nature of freedom from 17th-century Jamestown to Juneteenth and the forgotten stories of African American contributions to river life in early America as producer Horace Scruggs presents his documentary film, “Reclaiming the River: African American Life on Virginia’s Waterways.”
Admission to Jamestown Settlement is free to attend Juneteenth programming. Advance registration is required to view the film.
Following the film presentation, attendees are invited to join Scruggs for a guided paddle on Jamestown area waterways. The group, limited to 15 participants, will launch from the James City County Marina at 3 p.m. and return at approximately 5:30 p.m.
For more information, call 757-253-4838 or visit jyfmuseums.org.