COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee began its June 15 meeting with a proclamation, declaring June 19 Juneteenth Day, also known as Freedom Day, in the municipality, joining in the celebration of an African American holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865, arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas, where Gen. Gordon Granger read federal orders enforcing President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the state’s slaves.
Until then, Union troop strength in Texas was not strong enough to impose the proclamation.
Most scholars agree that the war ended months before, when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia. The holiday gets its name from a combination of June and 19th.
In these days of widespread demonstrations stemming from the death of George Floyd, the approach of Juneteenth Day offered an opportunity for unity and solidarity in the municipality. Mayor Timothy Donohue said the municipal proclamation and a series of planned events at the Martin Luther King Center June 19 grew out of discussions with protestors in Rio Grande June 1.
In partnership with the municipality, the Cape May County NAACP Facebook page invited participation at the MLK Center events June 19, from noon to 8 p.m. At the “Unity in the Community Event,” organizers promised “music, games, free food” and a chance to celebrate “our Independence Day.”
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