Joy subsumes happiness. Joy is the far greater thing.
-- Desmond Tutu
It's hard to put into words. If we had to choose one word to describe what infused the atmosphere at the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration last Saturday, June 18, we would choose the word joy. From little children dancing in the street, to the African dance troupe telling stories with their bodies; from youth volunteers cheerfully performing their duties, to the 90+-year-olds sitting in the shade while taking in the festivities, feelings of warmth, fellowship, and delight were experienced everywhere. Some said it felt like a family reunion.
The first of its kind on Main Street, a celebration of African American history and culture, the day started and ended with ceremony, with prayer and music, music that made your heart soar to the heavens and music that made your body want to move to the beat. And the food! Barbecue, oxtail, fried fish, curried chicken, macaroni and cheese, cotton candy, ice cream, organic smoothies, to list only some of the delicacies served at the event. Nearly 70 vendors offered their wares, and there were historical exhibits and other educational offerings as well.
Thanks to those who shared photos and helped us capture some of the magic of this historic day: Robin Fields, Leon Williams, Suzanne Nadeau, Marsha Melkonian, MacKenzie Miller, Taryn Weaver, LaKeisha Bradshaw McIntosh, and the Fauquier County Juneteenth Committee.
Dr. Tyrone Champion, Juneteenth Committee Chair, welcomes everyone to the opening ceremony: “Please give applause for this great day that we celebrate freedom.”
Opening Prayer, Dr. Decker Tapscott: “Today we add our voices to the generations that have gone before us in giving thanks for the freedom [God] brought in the United States when legal slavery was ended.”
Opening Remarks, Town Councilman and Fauquier NAACP member Renard Carlos: “We are stronger together.”
Dr. Ellsworth Weaver, Karen White, Mike Logan, View Tree Lodge 142 and Barrie Newman receive recognition as founders of the event.
Karen Hughes White, Afro-American Historical Association (AAHA): “As we think of Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom, we must remember the nameless, the often invisible people in Fauquier’s pages of history, those who endured the separation of family and the institution of slavery." [The full text of Karen White's remarks is at the bottom of this page.]
Jasmine Morton, founder, Advocating for Justice and March for Black Lives, shares news of national BLM movements as well as two local efforts, the annual Black Lives Matter Marches and the Black Lives Matter Vigils for Action.
Beautiful music from the Faith Christian Praise Team.
Fauquier NAACP member Robin Fields sings a soul-stirring rendition of the Black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Honoring Local Heroes: Karen Hughes White presents award to Pastor Moyer Foddrell.
The family of Robert Lionel Walker accepts posthumous award from Dr. Ellsworth Weaver.
Michelle Davis-Younger, 1st woman, 1st person of color elected as mayor of the City of Manassas: “This is partnership. This is sisterhood and brotherhood and I love to see this.”
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Ellsworth Weaver: “I’m bringing you this little bit of history so that we can take yesterday and work with today. Even though we have come a long ways in 157 years of freedom, we still have a long ways to go. Until America understands the real picture that has been painted by our history, it’s going to take a long time for some changes to take place…Get out and vote. Meet your local representatives. Do you know who represents you in Warrenton? In Fauquier County? In Richmond? In Washington?...Do we know what their agenda is as to how it impacts us?”
Smiling faces of tomorrow.
Who's that handsome couple? Renard and Lea Carlos!
Fauquier NAACP members Dr. Ethel Canty Bothuel and Marsha Melkonian.
Chihamba African Dance Troupe.
Sweet Potato Pie contest.
Juneteenth Committee member Joe Washington gives Committee chair Dr. Tyrone Champion a lift.
"...Summer's here and the time is right
For dancing in the street..."
Suzanne Nadeau, Marsha Melkonian, and Kim Gibson at the Fauquier NAACP booth.
Gail Jeffries, LaKeisha Bradshaw McIntosh, and Debra Copeland.
Chuck Wilkers and son showing us where they live in Fauquier County. What's the land you live on zoned for? Are you aware that the nation is experiencing a housing crisis? Homes affordable to the average person are becoming harder and harder to find. Affordable homes for all is a focus of the work of the Fauquier NAACP.
Tiana Minor and Robin Fields.
Harriet Tubman was spotted in the crowd!
So was the Black Panther!
Harriet (Taryn Weaver) with Fauquier NAACP and Juneteenth Committee member Joe Washington.
Harriet with Bob Mosier, former sheriff of Fauquier County, now Virginia's Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security.
Cindy Mosier, Harriet Tubman (Taryn Weaver), and Bob Mosier.
The Black Panther and Mike Fields.
The ladies of the Afro American Historical Association of Fauquier County.
Fauquier NAACP members Bob Copeland and Terry Owsley assist a vendor.
Greg Crowne, another hard-working Juneteenth volunteer.
Some of the folks at Oak View National Bank's booth. From left, Brenda Correa, Mike Ewing, customer Robert Chichester, and Rick Monahan.
From left, Oak View National Bank's Christine Corbett, Stephanie Bedow, Mike Ewing, Karington Smith, Jacq Timbers, Rick Monahan and Debbie Yancey.
Fauquier NAACP member Conway Porter spent the day at Poplar Fork Baptist Church's booth.
League of Women Voters
Hair Braiding contest:
Posters sharing local Black history could be found all along Main Street, courtesy of the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County.
Fauquier NAACP member Libbi Moore with daughter and mom, Sylvia McDevitt.
One of the many food trucks.
Exhibits at the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail:
The Story of Samuel Johnson.
A sad and sobering artifact from the past.
Madison's Barber Shop exhibit.
Fauquier NAACP member Scott Christian advertising the Children's Corner.
Face Painting.
Adwela and The Uprising Reggae Band performs.
Closing ceremony.
Felicia Champion shares the history of hair braiding in the African culture.
And the winner is...
Felicia Champion shares the history of the sweet potato in African and African-American cooking.
Juneteenth Committee members are recognized.
John and Robin Thompson.
Warrenton Police Chief Michael Kochis and Lieutenant Alvaro Moran.
Fauquier County Sheriff Jeremy Falls and Chief Kochis with Barrie Newman.
Dr. Weaver posing with Officer Maribeth Houser and Warrenton celebrity and American Idol finalist, Mike Parker.
And...it's a wrap! Laura Nix-Berg, Cliff Smith, and Wayne Berg.
Special thanks to the sponsors and supporters of the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Celebration: Oak View National Bank, PATH Foundation, Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County (AAHA), Piedmont Press & Graphics, Micron Technology, Mark B. Williams & Associates, Skip Carter, and Broadview Sunoco.
And thanks to Skip Carter and the Fauquier County Juneteenth Committee for sharing a video of the opening ceremony.
0:01 WELCOME - Dr. Tyrone Champion: “Please give applause for this great day that we celebrate freedom.”
0:45 OPENING PRAYER – Dr. Decker Tapscott: “Today we add our voices to the generations that have gone before us in giving thanks for the freedom [God] brought in the United States when legal slavery was ended.”
2:22 OPENING REMARKS – Renard Carlos: “We are stronger together.”
4:12 RECOGNITION of Barrie Newman, Mike Logan, View Tree Lodge 142, Dr. Ellsworth Weaver, and Karen White as founders of the event.
6:45 BLACK LIVES MATTER ALSO - Jasmine Morton, sharing news about the national BLM movement as well as local efforts, including the local Black Lives Matter Marches and the Black Lives Matter Vigils for Action.
12:13 JUNETEENTH-BLACK-LOCAL HISTORY – Karen Hughes White, Afro-American Historical Association (AAHA): “As we think of Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom, we must remember the nameless, the often invisible people in Fauquier’s pages of history, those who endured the separation of family and the institution of slavery…Fauquier’s African American population was just over 50% from 1820-1860. We want to know their names. We must remember.”
19:36 REMARKS – Michelle Davis-Younger, 1st woman, 1st person of color elected as mayor of the City of Manassas in 2020: “This is partnership. This is sisterhood and brotherhood and I love to see this.”
20:51 MUSICAL SELECTIONS – Faith Christian Outreach Choir
30:50 BLACK NATIONAL ANTHEM – Robin Fields
35:34 HONORING LOCAL HEROES – Pastor Moyer Foddrell; Robert Lionel Walker (posthumously)
41:05 KEYNOTE SPEAKER – Dr. Ellsworth Weaver: “I’m bringing you this little bit of history so that we can take yesterday and work with today. Even though we have come a long ways in 157 years of freedom, we still have a long ways to go. Until America understands the real picture that has been painted by our history, it’s going to take a long time for some changes to take place…Get out and vote. Meet your local representatives. Do you know who represents you in Warrenton? In Fauquier County? In Richmond? In Washington?...Do we know what their agenda is as to how it impacts us?”
FULL TEXT OF KAREN WHITE'S REMARKS:
June 18, 2022
Today, as we think of Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom, we must remember the nameless, the often-invisible people in Fauquier’s pages of history, who endured the separation of their families and the institution of slavery.
Fauquier County formed in 1759 from Prince William County and was named in honor of the Governor of Virginia, Francis Fauquier, who served from 1858-1868. The African American presence in Fauquier is documented in local diaries, church records, accounts books, the US Census, County, State and Federal records. These records tell the stories of slavery, resistance, freedom!
Fauquier’s African American population was just over 50% from 1820 to 1860. We want to know their names, we must remember!
Remember those born free without the right to citizenship, having to carry a pass to engage in work or to visit family in other locations, knowing the patrollers, catchers, and traders were ever present.
Remember the emancipated who had to petition to remain in the county or who by law had to leave Virginia within 12 months.
Remember President Lincoln seeking to keep the union together, signing the Emancipation Proclamation September 22, 1862, effective January 1, 1863.
Remember the watchers waiting for the midnight hour on December 31, 1862. No longer watching and praying for family members not to be sold, hired, or separated but watching and praying for the Hour of Freedom!
Remember the freedom seekers who fled the chains of bondage listed as runaways and those considered as contraband.
Remember the free men who were conscripted to aid the confederacy as teamsters, body servants, cooks, medical attendants, and laborers who built the fortifications at Rappahannock Station and Evans Point and dug the entrenchments at Manassas.
Remember the sons of Fauquier who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops.
Remember, a month after Lee’s Surrender, the members of the 62nd & 65th Regiment of the USCT engaged in the final battle of the Civil War at Palmetto Ranch near Brownsville, Texas on May 13, 1865.
Remember the names of seven members of the 65th: Robert A. Gibson, John Burns, Henry Prath, Edmund Wells, Robert Taylor, Henry Weir, and Charles Harris.
Remember the names of twenty members of the 62nd: Henry Camblin, Russell Foley, Wesley Parker, Jack Carr, Edmund Carpenter, Henry Carpenter, Henry Jackson, John Ray, Charles Turner, Morten Carter, James H. King, Henry Rollins, Harry Washington, Temple Cheek, Elias Miles, Ben Roth, William Douglas, Jacob Parker, Samuel Stean, Charles Turner, and Harry Washington, all born in Fauquier.
Remember Major General Granger, arriving in Galveston Texas, with his troops announcing the end of the Civil War on June 18th.
Remember on the following day, June 19th, two and a half years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Major General Gordon Granger issued Proclamation General Order No. 3:
"The people 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, and the connection heretofore existing between them, become that between employer and hired labor. The freed are advised to remain at their present homes, and work for wages…”
Today we are proud to be a part of the 2nd celebration of the Federal Holiday “Juneteenth,” June 19, 2022. We celebrate and remember the tradesmen and women: the blacksmiths, the brick and stone masons, the fencers, farmers, the coopers, carpenters, midwifes, the spinners, the weavers, the wet nurses, body and house servants, the cooks. Remember the mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who lived to witness and celebrate freedom: learning to read and write, purchasing property, building communities, males voting for the 1st time in 1867, and producing educators, ministers, musicians, lawyers, doctors, nurses, artist, pilots, judges and elected officials.
On this day, June 18, 2022, we celebrate Freedom and Remember those before us! Happy Juneteenth!