BREWER, Maine (WABI) – Wednesday marked Juneteenth, the day in 1865 that word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved people in Texas, the most remote state that was part of the former Confederacy.
Folks in Brewer braved the heat to celebrate the holiday at Joshua Chamberlain Freedom Park.
Despite gaining national recognition in 2021, the city of Brewer has been celebrating Juneteenth for over a decade.
“Today, my dear, was rich and lovely beyond vocal expression. That’s how powerful it was,” comments James Varner, founder of the Maine Human Rights Coalition, about the energy felt.
Now living in New Jersey, Varner, 90, makes it a point to return to the city to celebrate Juneteenth every year.
“I think Mr. Varner has such incredible energy and so much information, just a wealth of information, of history that he brings forward to the now,” says Brewer City Mayor Jenn Morin. “And I think that that’s part of what’s so important in celebrating Juneteenth, is why is it important?”
Varner explains the history leading up to Juneteenth: “300 years of slavery in this country, where people like me were ripped from the bowels of Africa, put in hellish holes in ships and taken on long voyages. I know they were painful, coming to these shores and being in a slave market, where they separated husbands, wives from their children, treated them like animals, less than human beings like you.”
From walking with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement to being named the 2022 Bernard Lown ‘42 Humanitarian Award recipient by the University of Maine Alumni Association, Varner leads with love, unity, and action.
During his speech, he noted that he was on the committee that raised around $20 thousand to erect the North to Freedom statue at Freedom Park, depicting a slave rising from an underground tunnel. The work of art represents Brewer’s role in the Underground Railroad as slaves escaped the States to Canada.
“We must realize that we have a responsibility as human beings to take care of other human beings and along with that responsibility goes getting out to vote,” Varner explains of the importance of being an active citizen in your community. “It can only happen if you make it happen. Take my hand in love! Love you!”
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