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On, Friday, June 20, 2025, we will be celebrating our 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Carver Price Cultural Center at 426 Patricia Anne Lane in Appomattox VA.

Appomattox has an unique place in history, not only did the Civil War end here but also 4600 enslaved people were freed. On April 9, 2025, we celebrated the 160th Anniversary of the first group of enslaved people gaining their FREEDOM. On June 20, 2025, Appomattox will celebrate the 160th Anniversary of the last of the enslaved people gaining their FREEDOM. There will be games, food, raffles, and prizes. We will have vendors and musical performances. This event is FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY, AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Roscoe Simmons, who is the nephew of Booker T. Washington, and a columnist for the historical Black newspaper Chicago Tribune once wrote in 1924 that slavery began and ended in Virginia, and viewed Appomattox as a place of salvation for African-Americans. This salvation was created by the surrender at Appomattox County House on April 9, 1865 which is also known as Freedom Day for African Americans, which provided them with emancipation, freedom, and pride. However, not all enslaved people were aware of their freedom like the enslaved people of Appomattox. The enslaved people of Texas did not receive this announcement until June 19, 1865.  So, on Juneteenth we are not just remembering the announcement of Emancipation in Galveston Texas, but the end of slavery as an institution in the United States. On June 19th, freedom for all was finally acknowledged, even if it though it had not been fully fulfilled. The first celebration of Freedom Day in 1866 was organized by the formerly enslaved people of Galveston, which has led to the idea it was only about them. It is a day that all of us are part of because it is the day the struggle for freedom was joined by the struggle for equality. While Juneteenth may be a new holiday for some, it is a day for all people. It reminds us of the hard history of where we have been. It reminds us of what we still need to learn, and it challenges us to live up to the promise of what we can and should be. Learning about the history of enslavement and the long struggle for true freedom and equality that followed emancipation is not easy. It is a complicated and discomforting story. But in the words of Frederick Douglass, history has shown us that “Without struggle, there is not progress” and it has also shown us that without discomfort there is no change.

Learn more about Appomattox for Equality at http://www.appomattoxequality.com