Thank you to those who brought Juneteenth celebrations to our community

We want to thank the Wheatley Historical Preservation Association, the Butler County NAACP and the Concerned Mother’s Coalition for their work Friday and today to organize events recognizing Juneteenth.

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday creating a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. It recognizes June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought news to Galveston, Texas, that the Confederacy had surrendered. It was more than two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

While this may be new as a federal holiday, it has been celebrated locally and around the nation for generations.

We want to thank all of the organizers who kept this important date alive for new generations and made the effort to ensure they were aware of its importance.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., said this week, “We have a responsibility to teach every generation of Black and white Americans the pride of a people who have survived, endured and succeeded in these United States of America despite slavery.”

Locally, organizer Rex Rattler said of events, “We will invest and support our youth by providing them with fun activities, but we will invest (also) by providing them with wisdom and knowledge of examples the community feels are our successes.”

Events also recognized local leaders who have been described as the “foundation” upon which the WHPA was built, Rattler said, the first President Clarence Jones; one of the resource people who work tirelessly, Geoffrey Moore, and the late president Colvin MacDonald.

Thank you again to everyone present and past who has worked to bring Juneteenth recognition to our community.

— Daily American Republic