The event was held on the historic grounds of the Christiansburg Industrial Institute
Photos by Lori Graham
By Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
The 2023 Juneteenth celebration happened on Saturday, June 19 on the grounds of the historic campus of the Christiansburg Industrial Institute and was sponsored by The Coalition of Christiansburg Institute, Hill School Community Center, and the Christiansburg Alumni Association.
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, became a nationally recognized holiday in the United States two years ago through President Biden’s legislative initiative and Congress’s passing of the action. The holiday is to remember and celebrate once enslaved African Americans and their emancipation. Specifically, “even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control,” according to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. “As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas.”
Saturday’s celebration in Christiansburg included food trucks, refreshments, local artisans, organizations, live entertainment, and of course, fellowship of community members, CI alumni, and the sharing of African American history and culture.
Welcoming remarks were given by Debbie Sherman-Lee, Chair of the Christiansburg Institute, Inc., Devante Mosley, CI, Inc. Project Coordinator, and Chris Sanchez, Executive Director of CI, Inc. Mosley led the celebration as emcee for the evening.
Blues player Jojo Stockton on vocals and guitar, accompanied by harmonica player, Jared Leland, gave a rhythmic and rousing performance, getting the festivities off to a great start. The duo was sponsored by the New River Blues Society, a local group that supports the continuation and growth of Blues music in the New River Valley.
The Glen Holmes and Custom Vibe Band provided music throughout the evening as well. Glen Holmes has been heavily influenced by jazz music, but enjoys all music genres, according to his website at www.glenholmesmusic.com.
Visitors were also able to tour the Smokehouse Museum, a replica built in 1988 of the original structure that once stood on the school grounds. Through a Virginia Humanities grant, C.E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation, and the Christiansburg Institute, new storyboards have recently been placed outside of the smokehouse that provide historical information and original digital images of other original structures that were once a part of the approximately 200-acre campus.
Speakers also provided the audience with opportunities to hear more about the legacy of the Christiansburg Institute and African American culture present in the region’s past.
Linda Whitlock-Brown, a great-great-great granddaughter of Edgar A. Long, former member of the Tuskegee Institute, and principal of the Christiansburg Institute, was present and spoke at the Juneteenth celebration.
“I am a firm believer that we all have a story to tell,” Whitlock-Brown said. “Share your story.”
Whitlock-Brown also shared the publication of Edgar A. Long’s publication of writings titled A Vision of Education: Selected Writings of Edgar A. Long. The book is in its second edition of publication and is available to purchase from the Christiansburg Institute, Inc. website at www.christiansburginstitute.org.
The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also had a tent at the celebration and representatives available to provide information on their work. Shirley Akers, Secretary of the local NAACP shared that in-person meetings are happening on the fourth Sunday of each month at the Old Hill School on High Street in Christiansburg.
