June 19, 1865: Union Major Gen. Gordon Granger delivered news to Galveston, Texas, that the Civil War had ended and the enslaved were to be freed.
That was more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863.
A 12-mile walk from Bethel AME Church, a former Underground Railroad depot in Meadville, to famous abolitionist John Brown’s home and tannery is set for Saturday to commemorate that June day when the last slaves were freed in the United States.
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s Sociology Club, the Meadville chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Faith Fellowship Church of God and Bethel AME organized the first local Juneteenth Walk-a-Thon.
Juneteenth, a worldwide celebration now in its 141st year, has “always been celebrated in the community on a very individual basis,” local NAACP President Sam Byrd Jr. said recently, but “it’s not been observed in this area on a widespread basis.”
Werner Lange, an Edinboro University sociology professor, suggested the walk as one way to celebrate northwestern Pennsylvania’s role in the abolitionist movement, according to Byrd.
“It’s something that needs to be noted, remembered and honored,” Byrd said. “It behooves us to give honor where honor is due.”
The opening ceremony and registration for the event is at 8 a.m. The walk, from Bethel AME on the corner Arch and Liberty streets in Meadville to John Brown’s home and tannery in North Richmond Township, starts at 9.
Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 287 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com
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