Juneteenth 2021: How Greater Alexandria Marks The End Of Slavery

MOUNT VERNON, VA — As efforts to make Juneteenth a national holiday continue, people in the greater Alexandria communities have celebration/celebrations of their own. Juneteenth, held annually on June 19, celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and the date many slaves in Texas finally found out they were free.

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, according to Juneteenth.com. It is “a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings.” In recent years, Juneteenth “commemorates African-American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement.”

Gum Springs, Fairfax County's oldest African American community, will recognize Juneteenth along with its 188th anniversary with a Community Day event on Saturday, June 19. The event will happen from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Park, 8115 Fordson Road, Alexandria. Attendees can enjoy music, petting zoo, trackless train, information tables and a pop-up Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination clinic.

Head south to Mount Vernon to take part of Freedom Skies: A Juneteenth Celebration at the Mount Vernon estate as well as a historical marker unveiling to honor Ona Judge. Judge was born a slave at Mount Vernon, served as a personal assistant to Martha Washington, and later escaped to freedom. She was never captured despite George Washington's attempts. The historical highway marker resulted from local students' nomination in the governor's lack History Month Historical Marker Contest. The historical marker will be located at the post office entrance parking lot near the Mount Vernon estate, 3500T Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. The unveiling ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 19.

Head north into the City of Alexandria for in-person and virtual concerts and historical tours as well as to support more than two dozen Black-owned businesses ranging from yoga studios to custard shops and other unique shops.

Here is a full list of Juneteenth events:

• Ona Judge Historical Marker Unveiling at Mount Vernon celebrates an African American woman who fled from enslavement from George Washington's household. Unveiling ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 19 at Mount Vernon and streamed live on Facebook.
• Gum Springs Community Day celebrates Juneteenth and the 188th anniversary of Fairfax County's oldest African American community
• Preserving Their Names online exhibit at the Alexandria Black History Museum which opened May 25 and runs through June 30.
• Voices of Woodlawn: This virtual event takes place from Noon-1 p.m. on June 15 and features poets giving voice to the erased lives of those enslaved at Woodlawn, a former Fairfax plantation that is now a historical site.
• Outdoor Juneteenth Musical Celebration: This socially distanced concert will take place from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and from 7-8 p.m. on June 17 at The Rectory on Princess Street. Tickets are $42.
• Tell Me Your Name is a tour at the John Carlyle Historical Park and will focus on the experienced of enslaved community at the Carlyle House and the surrounding plantation. The tour will begin at 4:30 p.m. on June 18 and there is a cost of $10.
• Freedom Skies: A Juneteenth Celebration features Mount Vernon character interpreter Brenda Parker who will provide a narrative of four freed slaves after George Washington's death. The event will be held from Noon-1 p.m. on June 19 at George Washington's Mount Vernon.
• Juneteenth Celebration at John Carlyle House and the Athenaeum will be held from Noon-5 p.m. on June 19. The event is free and will feature live music, art, history, poetry readings and hands-on activities.
• Manumission Tour Company offers Alexandria Black history tours weekends from February through December, led by fourth generation Alexandrian and City Councilman John Taylor Chapman.
• Juneteenth Craft Fair at Harambee Books and Artworks, located at 1132 Prince St. Admission is free.
• Under The Same Roof: Explore the Lee-Fendall House from the perspectives of the enslaved and free African Americans who lived and worked in the home as domestic servants, both before and after the Civil War. The event will be held at 2 p.m. on June 19 and the price of admission is $10.
• Virtual Concert with The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices: This ensemble is committed to the preservation of African American history and traditions–presenting songs and stories of struggle and perseverance, trials, and triumphs, as expressed through a cappella music, drama, and dance. The virtual concert will take place June 19.
• Exploring the Alexandria African American Trail: This virtual tour will take place at noon on June 19 and is free and Members of the African American Heritage Trail Committee will discuss the importance of Black history in Alexandria, what archaeology reveals about the past, and the potential benefits and impacts of community history initiatives.
• Fifth annual Juneteenth Black History Bike Tour of Alexandria: This event is free to the public is a casual 17-mile ride through Alexandria that will visit Black historical sites throughout the city. The event runs between 8:30 a.m-Noon on June 19.

Juneteenth is held on June 19 because that was the date in 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were free. Many of the slaves in Texas had not known of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had actually given them freedom more than two years earlier.

Granger read “General Order No. 3,” which stated, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” according to the city of Galveston, which has an historical marker for its connection to the holiday.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard University professor and African American historian, wrote in The Root magazine that Juneteenth is “an occasion for gathering lost family members, measuring progress against freedom and inculcating rising generations with the values of self-importance and racial uplift.”

Most states have Juneteenth listed as an official holiday, although it is not a national holiday. In 1980, Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday. In the time since, 45 other states have decided to officially recognize the day, according to The New York Times.

Juneteenth celebrations have occurred in most states, according to Juneteenth.com. A number of cities and towns held events and parades for the 150th anniversary in 2015.

Also On Patch: What Is Juneteenth? 5 Things To Know About The Holiday That Marks The End Of Slavery

More and more places are recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday. In 2020, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday and gave executive branch employees a paid holiday.

Some major American brands — Twitter, Nike and the National Football League, included — have made Juneteenth a paid company holiday.