The eleventh annual Juneteenth Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 19, at Brandon Park in Williamsport from 1 to 5 pm. (In the event of inclement weather it will move to Curtin Middle School at 85 Eldred St.) The main speaker is Dr. Mitch Kachun, professor of Black studies and history at Western Michigan University. Kachun also spoke at the 2005 and 2007 Juneteenth events. Kachun is co-editor of a book of essays and a novel that is believed to be the first written by an African-American woman in the United States. He’ll speak about Julia C. Collins, who had segments of her novel and her essays published in 1865 by The Christian Recorder, the newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Since Collins lived in Williamsport, Kachun enjoys coming here to speak about the importance of her contribution to our area. Prior to the event, at noon, a state historical marker honoring Mrs. Collins will be unveiled by the Lycoming County Historical Society at the Heritage Trail on the Susquehanna River Walk. Musical guests include Heaven Sent and recording artists Johnny J. Blair (“Singer-at- Large”) and Kevin D. Watson (licentiate at Mt. Zion AME Church, Norristown). Evangelist Dawn Filchner-White and WRLCFM radio personality Marcelene Brown will also perform. There will be dance performances by Katie Benson’s School of Dance and Valorie Taylor’s Expressions. State Rep. Rick Mirabito will read General Order No. 3; Rev. Kenneth A. Burnett will read the Emancipation Proclamation; and a representative from Congressman Chris Carney’s office will speak. In appreciation for her contribution to local black history in our community, Dr. Mamie Sweeting-Diggs will be honored with a plaque presented by Wegman’s Food and Pharmacy Store No. 078 and the Juneteenth Celebration Association. There will also be a children’s carnival, CC (lady) Clowns, and pony rides and a petting zoo (courtesy of Russ and Marie Reitz’s Gracious Meadows Farms), Sweeting-Diggs’s Underground Railroad exhibit, genealogical advice, vendors, and more. The second Gifted Youth Art Exhibit will feature the results of five art workshops, which involved a mentoring program and art instruction provided by area professionals including Jackie Thomas (fiber artist), Seth Goodman (associate professor of art at Lycoming College), Eve Archer (retired art instructor and Way’s Garden Art Show founder), and Rev. Marwin Reeves (treatment specialist for USP Lewisburg). Six art students from Lycoming College also volunteered their time. “Without the mentoring aspect in the art workshops, teaching skills to the children could very well be a waste of time if they get sidetracked… and don’t commit to what they’ve learned,” says association administrator Conni Robinson.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, with 1,200 troops to read General Order No. 3, which stated that slaves were free. This was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written by President Abraham Lincoln. Some states had sent their slaves to Texas to wait for the outcome of the Civil War, and Texas considered seceding from the Union prior to 1865. June 19th became a day for celebrating freedom and represents the actual end of slavery in the United States. Slaves all over Texas celebrated following the reading. There is a movement under way to make Juneteenth an official holiday. National Juneteenth Holiday Campaign Chair Ronald V. Myers, Sr. is encouraging others to try to persuade the Pennsylvania Senate to proclaim June 19 a state holiday, as it is in Texas and 35 other states. The term “Juneteenth” was first introduced to Williamsport by Sweeting-Diggs in 1997. The first “Juneteenth Celebration” was held in 2000, and it has since become an annual event. For more information about the Juneteenth Celebration, please call 570-419-2502 or visit the website: www. juneteenthcelebration.com.