With live performances and light bites, the 2nd annual Emancipendence event in the West Grove is a celebration of Juneteenth and Florida Emancipation Day, marking 160 years since the abolition of slavery in the United States.
One hundred and sixty years ago this month, Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston, Texas and declared an end to slavery in the Lone Star State.
The Coconut Grove Ecumenical Network will mark that milestone – and the end of slavery in Florida in May 1865 as well – at the 2nd annual Emancipendence event on Sunday June 29 at Sanctuary of the Arts on Frow Avenue in the West Grove.
In a historically Black neighborhood where change is on the march, Carolyn Donaldson, one of the event organizers, said it’s more important than ever to hold on to history.
“It’s two significant ways for us to tell our history,” Donaldson told the Spotlight. “The more we tell the story, the more it gets ingrained in history and solidified, so we don’t wake up 20 or 30 years from now and no one knows that Little Bahamas and the West Grove ever existed.”
The intent of the event is to educate – to mark the legal end of slavery as both a milestone and a reminder of the long struggle for freedom.
“Each year, we want to teach on some segment of what actually transpired,” said Donaldson, the board secretary and finance officer at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African-American Baptist church in Miami.
By inviting participants to remember both milestones at one event, “we can leave them more educated about what happened then, and what has happened over time – and bring that forward,” she added.
Donaldson noted that many people are unaware of the distinction between the federal holiday of Juneteenth – which is observed on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in Texas and the United States – and Florida Emancipation Day. While both events occurred in 1865, Florida marks May 20 as the day slavery ended in the state.
Highlighting the difference between the two holidays was the focus of last year’s event. This year, the event will feature theatrical performances depicting the life of an individual who lived through this period in history.
To convey the message, the ecumenical network will rely entirely on local actors – including ministers from historic Coconut Grove churches and members of schools and other community groups. Loretta Whittle, civil rights activist and board member at Macedonia, writes the scripts, drawing inspiration from her family’s lived experiences.
“People get it when you present it to them in a certain way – through the arts,” Donaldson said.
While this is the second year of Emancipendence, the organization has partnered with Sanctuary of the Arts in the past to present a similar event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s production, “The Many Faces of Dr. King,” was the event’s 31st year.
“We always had a good attendance at most of the events,” said Donaldson. “The MLK ones are usually standing room only.”
An estimated 150 attended last year’s Emancipendence event, Donaldson said. She’s hoping the event continues to grow in years to come.
The second annual Emancipendence event takes place on Sunday June 29 at 2 p.m. at the Sanctuary of the Arts, 136 Frow Ave. in the West Grove (technically, Coral Gables). The event is free and open to the public.
