Hertford will be the site of not one but two Juneteenth celebrations this weekend.
The first is sponsored by the town of Hertford and will be coordinated by Town Councilor Connie Brothers. The second, which Town Council agreed to facilitate Monday night, is being coordinated by the Juneteenth Committee of the Perquimans Chapter of the NAACP. Both events are free and set for Saturday.
The town-sponsored observance starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Colored Soldier Monument at the corner of Hyde Park and King streets. Attendees will then take a "freedom march" to Central Park where the main event begins at 11 a.m.
“I will open the program by paying homage to our ancestors and I will then share a story of Hannah Craft, who wrote her own book while enslaved," Brothers said in an email. "(Historian) Henry Louis Gates edited the book and was able to get it published. What has been controversial is that Hannah Craft learned how to read when it was against the law for an enslaved person to read.”
Brothers also plans to share a few songs from "In The Hollow of Your Hand" by Alice McGill, which were recorded and published by the Smithsonian Institution.
"They are the songs of the enslaved that were handed down to family members in northeastern North Carolina," she said.
The town's observance also includes a gospel concert featuring the Sons of God, a male chorus from Plymouth, and vocalist Candace Ellis from Ayden. There also will be a "Battle of the Beats" featuring a drumming competition between an Ahoskie-based DJ and a local drummer.
“We will end at 6 p.m.," Brothers said. "Last year, we included professional storytellers but (this year) we have Mr. James Jones, filmmaker, editor and a writer."
The NAACP-sponsored Juneteenth celebration will start at 2 p.m. and also end at 6 p.m.
Three citizens spoke during the public comment portion of Monday's Hertford Town Council meeting, requesting the closure of Hyde Park Street to accommodate the NAACP's Juneteenth observance. Making the request were Dr. Penni Brown, Tony Riddick and Gilbert Vaughan, who identified themselves as representatives of the Perquimans NAACP's Juneteenth Committee.
“This significant event, hosted by the local NAACP Juneteenth Committee, will take place at the historic United States Colored Troops Monument in the Academy Green Park, located at the intersection of Hyde Park and King Streets,” Brown said. “Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is a time for reflection and rejoicing. It is a day to acknowledge the struggles and achievements of African Americans throughout history."
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — two months after the Confederacy had surrendered and about 2½ years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Southern states defeated by the Union.
Brown said the Perquimans NAACP's celebration will be "designed to educate, inspire, and entertain." The program will include historical presentations, live music, traditional foods, and a special ceremony at the USCT Monument, which Brown said "stands as a beacon of freedom and a testament to the courage of those who fought for equality."
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