Fairfax City’s Juneteenth celebration, held June 14 in Old Town Square, included food and crafts vendors, children’s activities and live entertainment. But first came a special ceremony about the importance of the day.

“Welcome to the third annual Juneteenth celebration in Fairfax City,” said Mayor Catherine Read. “Juneteenth has been celebrated for many, many years, and it was more than time for our City to embrace an important part of this City’s history and community – to raise up the contributions of our ancestors past and our community members present. This is also about acknowledging the long, moral arc toward racial justice in this City and in this country.”

Then, after introducing the Councilmembers there – Anthony Amos, Billy Bates, Stacy Hall and Stacey Hardy-

Chandler – Read mentioned someone not there, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th), who died in May. “Gerry Connolly loved all of his people,” she said. “He showed up, celebrated and spoke to the things that matter to our community, commonwealth and country. And he will be missed.”

But that’s all the more reason, said Read, to “take every opportunity to talk about the importance and relevance of the history of the Black community to this community. Today, I hope we all enjoy the music, food, celebration and each other. It’s a jubilee – Juneteenth.”

Emcee Philip Wilkerson, a GMU staff member and Ph.D. student, then read remarks by Sen. Saddam Salim (D-37th), who was unable to attend. “As we gather together today to reflect on our continuing journey toward reconciliation for historical wrongs, we know we do so at a time of renewed social injustice,” wrote Salim. “Our freedom of speech, our right to due process, are under assault.

“The progress we’d made is overshadowed by new divisions. And the forces that divide us can seem insurmountable. Juneteenth teaches us that our nation’s greatest potential isn’t our history, but our future. Like the abolitionists who sought to end hundreds of years of slavery, and the civil rights leaders who fought for greater rights for Black Americans, we, too, have the power to shape our country.

“Today we renew our commitment to a more just and inclusive Virginia. We celebrate equality under the law, our freedom from oppression and our commitment to build a more just, democratic and peaceful society than that which we have inherited.

“And we honor the memory of those who fought for our freedom by continuing their struggle, in the spirit of resilience and hope. May we all work together to create a future where freedom, justice and equality are truly within reach for everyone who calls Virginia home.”

Agreeing, Del. David Bulova (D-11th) said, “Virginia’s history is one of extreme contradictions. Slavery took its first ugly foothold on the shores of Point Comfort, Va., in 1619. We institutionalized Jim Crow in our Virginia Constitution in 1902 and led the Massive Resistance movement – choosing to shut down schools rather than integrate.”

But, he added, “We’re also a place of great strides forward. A Black Virginian, Richmond lawyer Oliver Hill, played a quintessential role in the Brown v. the Board of Education decision to end school segregation. In 1989, Virginians elected Doug Wilder the first Black governor in the nation. And today, 32 of my colleagues in the General Assembly are members of the Legislative Black Caucus.”

Now, said Bulova, “We celebrate the momentous occasion in June 1865 that helped make those things possible. And we celebrate those brave individuals who used that occasion – through their blood, sweat, brains and tears – as a launching point for making our world a better place.” 

He encouraged attendees to visit the Freedom House Museum in Alexandria, where a child named Henry Bailey was sold into slavery, separated from his family and sent to Texas.

“At age 21, he was emancipated and walked more than 1,000 miles back to Alexandria to reunite with his mother,” said Bulova. “After serving as minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church, he founded two schools and what’s now Greater Little Zion Baptist Church, just south of Fairfax City on Zion Drive. Thousands of people drive by it every day, not knowing this amazing story of perseverance that went into its founding.

“His daughter, Annie Rose, continued his legacy. She helped organize the March on Washington and was instrumental in the founding of the Alexandria Society of Preservation of Black Heritage.” And in the 1980s, the office building where her father stood as a scared child was named Freedom House in honor of his emancipation.

Likewise, said Bulova, “We focus today on the joy of emancipation, freedom and family and celebrate the strength, resiliency, courage, grace and contributions of Black Americans who fought for their civil liberties. There have been setbacks, challenges and heartbreaks. But how joyful it is that we began that journey 160 years ago toward freedom and justice.”

The Rev. Nelson Sneed, of the NOVA Baptist Assn., gave the invocation. “Eternal God, we thank You for the courageous, freedom-loving men and women who, with an unyielding resolve, insisted that we face the hard truths of racial reconciliation. May the beauty of diversity blossom with dignity and unrelenting respect for all.”

Next at the podium, Wilkerson said, “We don’t study history to avoid mistakes. We [do it] to understand others’ stories and [thereby] cultivate something far more powerful – empathy.” Explaining the roots of Juneteenth, he said, “On June 19, 1865 – 2-1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation – Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people were finally free. That moment, long overdue, marked the official end of slavery in the United States.

“Juneteenth is a symbol of delayed justice, resilience and the enduring spirit of people who refused to be forgotten or erased. It reminds us that freedom is a process that, in many ways, continues today. Systemic injustice, generational trauma, inequality – these didn’t vanish when the chains were broken. But neither did the strength, creativity and perseverance of the Black community.”

As a Black man, said Wilkerson, “I feel a deep sense of connection to my ancestors. I feel their strength in my bones. I carry their resilience into every space I enter. And I share these stories with my sons – not just so they know their history – but so they know their power. So let Juneteenth be a spark for conversation, a catalyst for connection. By honoring the struggle of those who came before us, we can build a better future for us, our children and generations yet to come.”

Local resident Krysta Jones spoke about how America was built “on the backs” of Black workers. “After surviving slavery, sharecropping provided a way for them to work the land and earn a living,” she said. “This perpetuated a system of control, as they remained tied to the landowner due to their debt.” Eventually, they left the South for better opportunities. Yet, despite progress over the years, Black workers still face challenges.

“Juneteenth symbolizes the transition from forced to free labor,” said Jones. “And while the history of African Americans and labor might have started on the auction block, today Americans like me are thankful for their sacrifice and work. We’re also building community, advocating for important causes, mentoring, helping those in need and even writing children’s books, as I’ve done, to pass on a legacy of the power of work on our terms.

“We’re still – but now in our own way – building a stronger America. So let’s see Juneteenth not only as a historical event, but also a call to action for continued efforts to achieve economic justice and equality for all people – both when they have to work and when they want to.”

Giving the closing benediction, Sneed said,” As a diverse people and as a nation, we’re stronger, bolder and better together.” He then prayed, “Father, we’re mindful of the current, political discord running rampant across the nation. Help us move beyond the deceit of hatred, the bigotry of white supremacy and the venomous vitriol of white nationalism that we might rise and seize the beautiful buoyancy of a diverse brotherhood and a marvelous power of being one, true family born out of many peoples.”