Maronica Tibbs, dancer and poetess, does an interpretive dance to the sounds of “Order My Steps” during Fridays Juneteenth celebration at the Mary Walker Foundation Headquarters in East Chattanooga. The group recognizes their African ancestors for the contributions they made in America in Civil War times.Dancing, singing and poetry readings are how nearly two dozen people celebrated Juneteenth a little late on Friday.
“We’re having it in July because so many things were already going on in June with the Southside Family Reunion and Riverbend, but we decided that Juneteenth is too important not to celebrate at all,” said Charlotte S. Williams, who hosted the celebration.
Juneteenth refers to an incident in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, commissioned by President Abraham Lincoln, was sent to Galveston, Texas, because the state still was holding slaves two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. The Emancipation Proclamation, signed Jan. 1, 1863, freed some slaves and laid the foundation for the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in 1865 as a legal institution.
It was not until June 19, 1865, that slaves in Texas found out they were free, Williams said.
A recording by the late Donny Hathaway played “Someday We’ll All Be Free” as people gathered into the Mary Walker Foundation in East Chattanooga where the Juneteenth celebration was held.