by Taylor Means & Donna Vissman
This past weekend, the Franklin Justice and Equity Coalition (FJEC) held its 2nd Annual Juneteenth Freedom Celebration on Saturday, June 18. The event hosted over 100 vendors, live music, food trucks, a kids game area, where kids and parents could ride the Freedom Train. Children’s author, Dorene Williamson, who sold out of several of her books said, “it’s a joy to share with children our history.”
The FJEC continued their celebration on Sunday with a Block Party at Jim Warren Park.
On Monday, June 20th, the McLemore House (the home of a former slave, Harvey McLemore) hosted its 19th Juneteenth celebration.
The celebration included a flag raising by American Legion Post 215 with remarks by City of Franklin’s Eric Stuckey, and Abraham Lincoln. A special moment was when local chapter of ALPHA Beta Kappa Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority made a donation to the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County.
As part of the celebration, guests were able to tour the McLemore House which had been closed due to repairs. The home was built by former slave Harvey McLemore, the oldest remaining African American home, Harvey and his descendants have maintained the home for 117 years.
The home is currently open for tours on Thursday – Saturday from 10 am – 2pm.
See photos from the celebration below.
A quick history on Juneteenth and why this day is monumental. Juneteenth is short for June 19th, and marks the day that federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX in 1865 to force enslavers to free their enslaved peoples. While President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, many enslavers in Texas refused to acknowledge its existence and therefore did not tell their slaves of their freedom. Two years later in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger made the announcement in Galveston to about 250,000 enslaved. While Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a holiday, in 1979, it was not until 2021, that President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday.
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