The Gloucester Institute in partnership with the Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration Committee, Gloucester County NAACP and Mathews NAACP chapters hosted its Juneteenth Celebration on Wednesday, June 19.

Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day, is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

The day began with the Opal Lee Walk at 9 a.m. from Gloucester Library to St. Therese Roman Catholic Church and back. The walk is named after Opal Lee, who is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” for her role in making Juneteenth a federal holiday in June 2021. The day was then followed by Charles and Kay Cole James welcoming the community to Holly Knoll, one of the most historical places in the country, for a celebration that afternoon.

Multiple vendors were in attendance that people indulged throughout the event such as Bella’s Unique Styles, The Arts Daughter and more. Nonprofit organizations were in attendance as well such as BC United Outreach, the Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation, Gloucester and Mathews NAACPs and many others.

Clovia Lawrence, also known as Community Clo, was the mistress of ceremonies, Vibe Centric was the DJ for the event and Miss Juneteenth USA, Sunshine Huggins, was present during the day. The event began with a welcome from Dr. Kay Cole James.

James spoke about how Holly Knoll is known as the cradle of the Civil Rights movement. She said that it is on the National Historic Registry as well as the Virginia State Historical Registry. With that she wanted attendees to take away one thing.

“I want you to leave here today saying ‘I’ve been home. I have been to my place,’” said James. “When I stood over there (right of the water) and had the vision for restoring this place, when the Lord spoke into me, he spoke into me that you are to be the stewards not the owner. So we are not the owners, you own this sacred property.”

She said they did this for the community and how nothing brought them more joy than the community making use of this property. She spoke about all of the birthday parties, family reunions and other events that the community could have at Holly Knoll.

After that, attendees joined together to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as LeNora Rice played the keyboard. The invocation was given soon after by the pastor of The First United Baptist Church, the Rev. E. Randolph Graham.

Following the invocation was the celebration of dance by the praise dance group, Vessels of Praise. Ruby Whiting, Esther Whiting and Sandra Clayborne performed to “Take Me to the King” and “I Can Only Imagine.”

Poet Christopher Green recited two of his original pieces called “Finding Revival” and “Breaking Myth,” leaving the audience moved as it roared in applause and snaps.

Robert Kelly, Director of the Gloucester Museum of History, introduced his friend and colleague, who also was the keynote speaker for the evening, Professor Robert C. Watson.

Before Watson began his speech, he talked about traditions in the African American community, such as the acknowledgment of those who are older than the speaker. He spoke about how children were allowed to speak but children had to listen first and be given permission by those who were older than they. Before he could continue, Dr. Watson waited to be acknowledged by the oldest people within the community. When he was acknowledged, he began his speech.

Watson said how we should acknowledge the past as well as acknowledge the present. His wife, Cleopatra, helped him with a libation, with those who chose to participate.

“Juneteenth is a day that should be acknowledged,” he said. “It should have been acknowledged a long time ago. One-hundred and fifty-nine years ago, a major general, Gordon Granger, and about 2,000 Union Troops rode into Galveston, Texas, and decided to enforce Lincoln’s earlier Emancipation (Proclamation). That was tremendous. That in fact happened on June 19, 1865 … 159 years.”

Watson then asked the crowd to imagine what it must have felt like or seemed like for those 253,000 African Texans who did not know that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. He asked the crowd to think about the joy they may have had in their hearts and what they must have gone through. He then spoke about how they celebrated with dance, psalms and prayers.

While we are now free to celebrate, Watson said that was not necessarily the case in 1865.

“People did not know the future. They had no idea as to the challenges of the future and the many eras of injustices that they would go through over the next hundred years,” he said. “Through Jim Crow, Plessy vs. Ferguson, even after the Brown decision, has a connection with this place (Holly Knoll). When we think about Juneteenth, it is important to note all of this.”

Watson then talked about the importance in celebrating Juneteenth and passing these messages on to future generations.

“In conclusion, Juneteenth is a reminder of how far we have to go, but also a reminder of how far we have come. Now we have to be able to balance that as we go forward and celebrate Juneteenth,” said Watson.

After the speech, the Rev. Dr. Katrina W. Brown narrated the Juneteenth Celebrity Fashion Show, which included well-known people within our community sporting beautiful pieces, some pieces were Afrocentric styles from Roots and Culture Palace in Williamsburg. The program ended with the 40 Plus Double Dutch Club of Richmond, put on a great performance for onlookers on the tennis courts.

“It’s not just our event, but it is a community event where all walks of life came to celebrate,” said Brenda Dixon of the Gloucester Juneteenth Committee. “We had a wonderful turnout with approximately 300 people in attendance and people were pleased with the festivities. The decorations were by Balloon Boutique and Party. It was a time to educate, commemorate and celebrate the true meaning of Juneteenth by celebrating the past, present, and looking forward to the future and what a place to do that at the historic Holly Knoll,” said Dixon.

RUBY WILLIAMS / GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Assistant Professor of History at Hampton University Robert C. Watson was the keynote speaker during the Juneteenth celebration at Holly Knoll. Also addressing the crowd, photo at right, was Miss Juneteenth USA, Sunshine Huggins.