The Augusta Museum of History celebrated Juneteenth with the community on Saturday, June 15, to honor the past while looking forward to the future.
Juneteenth is yearly recognized to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., following the aftermath of the CIvil War.
Although enslaved people were first officially declared free in 1862 – under the terms of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – people in Galveston Bay, Texas continued to use slaves until 2,000 union troops arrived in 1865.
To make the occasion more widely known, President Joe Biden declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, and the Augusta History Museum began to recognize it annually with a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Funded in part by the Porter Fleming Foundation, this year’s Juneteenth event also featured three reenactment performances from Jean Embry, a performance of Sharon Jones’ “This Land Is Your Land” by a choir from the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, special readings, crafts, a historical scavenger hunt, a document screening and more.
To Krystal Lyon, the museum’s education manager, Juneteenth is all about celebrating freedom for everyone, everywhere in the nation.
“When you think about freedom for people – and we celebrate that during July 4 – Juneteenth is just about making that bigger and saying ‘we want freedom for all,’” she said. “… it’s also important for us as a museum to talk about history, because Augusta had over 6,000 slaves here just in Richmond County in the 1860s.”
As a result, Lyon said Augusta boasts a rich diversity of people today, some of whom have remained in the area for generations.
“So, it’s important for us to tell the story of not just one group of people, but of all the people here in the museum and Augusta,” she said.
Re-enactor Embry told visitors the story of Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman, a philanthropist who lived in Augusta during the 1800s, and endeavored to help educate and better the lives of multiple slaves.
Embry shared how Tubman, later buried in the graveyard of St. Paul’s Epsicopalian Church, and her husband were a prime example of a “wonderful love story” unknown to many.
“She used her money and everything she learned to give back … I think she made a great, loving home here in Augusta,” Embry said. “These are true stories, which I feel blessed to tell her story, because I really like telling the story of somebody who was a beautiful person.”
Attendee Tera Jackson, who admittedly listened to Embry, said wanted to visit the museum’s Juneteenth celebration because she believes those who do not remember the hard work of African Americans long ago can take their current privileges for granted.
“I just wanted to come out and be a part of history … it’s important to me to remember my ancestors in order to enjoy the liberties that we have been afforded today,” she said. “People don’t really understand how hard it was for our ancestors to gain things and what we had to fight for in the Civil Rights Movement.”
Whilst Embry loved telling the story of others, Lyon said she was most thrilled about artist A.C. Daniel sharing his talent all day through a community canvas to truly incorporate every visitor’s voice during Juneteenth.
“It’s been really fun just to watch it grow and change over the day,” Lyon said.
While the foundation of the painting featured an African inspired background pattern and hands holding a young, smiling girl, Daniel said the rest of the canvas was utilized to display additions created by museum visitors.
“She’s pointing at herself in pride, because she is proud of who she is,” Lyon said. “We also hope this painting will act as a teaching prompt here at the museum and at the Jessye Norman School where A.C. is a new staff member.”
Added on portions of paintings featured a cow, an intricate knot, a quote, hearts and more. Daniel said Juneteenth attendees had full control over what they added to the painting, but were guided by a prompt asking what made each individual proud to be who they are.
“I loved getting to see people add to it, especially some of the older people, because they were really proud of what they were adding to it and that was fantastic,” he said. “That was my favorite part – watching people be so into it.”
Daniel said people’s pride in their individual histories was truly heartwarming.
“Art is just so good for healing,” he said. “Alan Watts once said that we’re already living in the beatific, heavenly vision, but it’s the job of an artist to make others more aware of that. So this is art being used to highlight the best parts of ourselves, and that’s always a beautiful thing.”
Lyon said the community painting will be displayed over time in various local areas, such as the museum and the nearby Humanitree House, located at 305 Eighth St.
“Today has just been all about inspiration. For me, it was very inspirational,” Lyon said. “So it’s been a really good day full of goodness.”
For more information on the Augusta Museum of History, visit: https://www.augustamuseum.org/
Augusta’s eighth annual Juneteenth celebration will be held on Wednesday from noon to 9:30 p.m. at the James Brown Arena parking lot at 601 Seventh St., and will feature live performances, food and more.
