Jefferson County celebrates Emancipation Day

Kenzie James
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Community Friends of Jefferson County, Inc. hosted the annual Emancipation Day Celebration on Monday with performances and vendors from all over the Jefferson County community.
Emancipation Day celebrations were previously hosted at various locations until last year, which was the first year they were hosted at the Jefferson Recreation Park. Mary Brooks, a member of Community Friends, said the Community Friends like having the celebration at the park and being able to have the vendors and tents set up. Brooks said they have already started planning for next year and she wants people to come out to see what emancipation and the Emancipation Proclamation is all about, about their ancestors and what they worked for.
This year's celebration was from 1-6 p.m. on Monday, May 20, and had a stage and seating area set up for the events on the program. The path to the stage was lined with tents for community programs and businesses, including the Florida Department of Health in Jefferson County, T.E.A.M. Dad, Florida Health Jefferson County, Students Working Against Tobacco, U.S. Small Business Administration, FSU College of Medicine, Family Network of Disabilities, Simply Healthcare, the SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) Program, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Second Harvest, Disability Rights of Florida, Dogwood Disability Consulting, Xfinity, Sickle Cell Foundation, Inc., Big Bend Area Health Education Center and Healthy Start. There was also a tent where Community Friends of Jefferson County, Inc. provided free water, snacks and hamburgers for attendees. T. Walk Snow Cone was also at the event, offering a cold treat for the warm day. David Boatwright, the head coach for T.E.A.M. Dad said he liked being out at the celebration to be involved with and connect with the community.
Mistress of ceremony Sylvia Lamar Sheffield opened the celebration and introduced a variety of musicians, performers and speakers to the stage through the afternoon. The Family of Friends Band from Tifton, Ga. and D.J. Joe Soul provided musical entertainment through the afternoon between the other events on the program. School Kids, a percussion group of three students from Jefferson County Schools K-12 (JCS K-12), also provided a musical performance and performed with Family of Friends for a couple of songs.
JCS K-12 students were also involved in other aspects of the celebration on the stage. Four students in the Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps (JROTC) posted the colors at the opening of the celebration. Cadet Desmond Whitfield, a student at JCS K-12, was the student speaker and Attorney Derrick McBurrows was the guest speaker for the celebration. Whitfield said that Ann Herring, a chairman at the Florida Education Foundation, approached him a couple months ago and asked if he would speak, and he was glad he took the opportunity.
“To be able to make a small difference in my community means the world to me,” Whitfield said.

Annual Emancipation Day Parade
held Monday, May 20

Hailey Heseltine
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Monday, May 20, marked 159 years since emancipation for Florida's enslaved people was declared. On that day, on the steps of the Knott House in Leon County, General Edward M. Cook read the proclamation to the public. It meant that emancipation was then fully legal, since it could now be legally enforced without the chaos of a warn-torn country hindering the enforcement. As a result, many Floridians today celebrate May 20 as the state's Emancipation Day.
For decades, an Emancipation Day parade has been held in Monticello on May 20. This year's annual parade began around 11 a.m. on South Jefferson Street near Capital City Bank. Participants walked up South Jefferson Street and moved down East Washington Street, then along MLK Jr. Street.
The parade included several vehicles from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Engine 1 and an ambulance from the Jefferson County Fire Rescue, as well representatives from local businesses.
The procession included many students from Jefferson County K-12 (JCS) including the school's ROTC students. A banner that read “FREEDOM IS NOT FREE,” was carried throughout the course. Also present was the JCS football team and JCS Principal Jackie Pons, as well as many other participants from the community. While they walked, the marchers repeated motivational chants. Dozens of Monticello residents gathered around the streets to observe the procession as it they continued down the street, some marchers tossing out candy for the younger—and older—observers to enjoy.
Residents of Monticello can expect to see more Florida Emancipation Day parades in the future, with next year's marking the 160th anniversary of the emancipation.