With the help of many people and organizations, Juneteenth will again be celebrated in Gettysburg with two days of events marking the end of slavery in the United States.
The festivities will kick off on Saturday, June 21, at 11:45 am on the grounds of the United Lutheran Seminary behind 15 Seminary Ridge. Gettysburg Mayor Rita Frealing will give a welcoming address followed from noon to 3 pm by a series of presentations highlighting local Black historical figures and Thaddeus Stevens. Attendees will also be able to check out booths of various social groups and food trucks. Christine Campbell, representing Gettysburg’s first Black-owned bed and breakfast, will give closing remarks for this segment of the events. A walking tour will then leave the area to see various Black historic sites in Gettysburg, which should conclude by 4 pm.
Then at 7 pm the celebration shifts to Christ Lutheran Church at 30 Chambersburg Street in Gettysburg where there will be a presentation about the Emancipation Proclamation featuring music and songs along with dramatic vignettes about Thaddeus Stevens and Mag Palm, a pre-Civil War Black heroine, and a poem and song by Black abolitionist Sojourner Truth.
On Sunday, June 22, the spotlight will be turned on Black entrepreneurship, culture, and community at the Majestic Theater at 25 Carlisle Street in Gettysburg. From 3 to 5 pm, there will be food trucks in front of the theater, and Black owned businesses will be featured inside. There will be performances from 5 to 7:30 pm, and the evening will culminate with a free soul-stirring jazz concert by Antoinette Montegue.
Final touches are being made to the schedule, and updates can be found at this link: https://destinationgettysburg.com/juneteenth-gettysburg-celebration/
Juneteenth was declared a federal holiday in 2021 to mark the day on June 19, 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were told about the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln two years earlier. It banned slavery in the Confederacy, and the Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 assured that Lincoln’s order would be followed throughout the South.
Juneteenth was celebrated in Gettysburg in 2022 and 2023 but not in 2024. It has now returned with the help of the following people and organizations that have made generous contributions: Mediation Services of Adams County, Charles Sawicki, The Pub, Lisa Grim, Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice, Dobbin House/Jacqueline White, Gettysburg Pride Inc., Chad Alan Carr, Janet Riggs, Martin Zimman, Ronda Climons, Thaddeus Stevens Society, Rebecca Wood, Gail & Peter Hull, Adams County Community Foundation, and Star Grant of Adams County Arts Council.
Ross Hetrick is president and founder of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, which is dedicated to promoting Stevens's important legacy. Hetrick was a business reporter for 18 years in Baltimore and owned Ross's Coffeehouse & Eatery in Gettysburg from 1996 to 2004.
Were any attempts made to outreach Gettysburg’s Black community members? Where’s St. Paul’s AME Zion Church? Adams County Historical Society? Gettysburg College? This sounds more like a White ally event than a Black celebration. Unfortunately, there is no longer a Black organization in Gettysburg. This missed attempt exemplifies why there will always be a need for certain stories to be told in certain voices.
Great to hear that this great day in American history is being celebrated in my hometown of Gettysburg, Pa
Dr David L. Lovett