WADESBORO — A solemn opening to Wadesboro’s first Juneteenth celebration, Francis Scott Key’s “National Anthem” rang out from the Wadesboro Courthouse at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 15.
Carefully orchestrated, the Juneteenth ceremony included a presentation of the Juneteenth flag by Aiden Taylor and Mackenzie Lavine, a history of the flag by Ms. Sheila Chambers, and a pride inducing rendition of The Negro National Anthem by Miss Sunshine, who is a native of Lilesville.
Ms. Sheila Chambers is the Anson County Branch of the NAACP’s first Vice President.
The Juneteenth flag is a product of collaborators Ben Haith, the founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation, and illustrator Lisa Graf. Designed in 1997, the brightly colored flag depicts a star bursting over the horizon against a vibrantly hued backdrop of red, blue, and white.
Haith said of his design, “This country has so many aspects to it that are spiritual, and I believe this flag is of that nature. It (the idea for the design) just came through me.”
According to its designers, the Juneteenth flag is to mark “a new freedom for a new people.”
Initially written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon, the “Negro National Anthem”, or “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” was first penned in 1900.
Adding to the history of the day, Anson County NAACP Branch President Sinis Marsh explained to attendees the historical significance of Juneteenth.
From the top of the courthouse steps, Marsh proudly recounted how the news of freedom was carried to the last people enslaved in the Confederacy.
He detailed how on June 19, 1865 Union Troops wrested control of slavery’s last stronghold, Galveston Bay, Texas from the Confederacy. Assuming authority, General Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation, his words washing over the newly free like a healing balm.
Following Marsh, Ms. Dannie Montgomery read the hallowed words of the Emancipation Proclamation, as spoken by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863.
Following the ceremony, attendees were treated to live performances, music, vendors, voter registration education assistance, bouncy castles, a car show, and in true American tradition, lots of unified fellowship.
