In honor of Juneteenth, the Burke County branch of the NAACP hosted a Freedom Walk in downtown Morganton today. Community members, ministers, and local organizations gathered at Gaston Chapel A.M.E. Church at 10 a.m. to begin the walk.
Beginning on Bouchelle Street, the Freedom Walk continued along Avery Avenue and North Sterling Street and concluded at Slades Chapel A.M.E. church on East Meeting Street.
On this day, 159 years ago, more than 250,000 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Declared a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth marks the official independence day for African Americans.
“Juneteenth has unified persons of all races, sexes, and nationalities today in order to commemorate the holiday,” said Rev. Alicia Conley, president of the local NAACP branch.
Rev. Allen Warren, pastor of Gaston Chapel A.M.E. Church, addressed the crowd and concluded with a word of prayer.
“We walk, stepping together. We walk in solidarity. We walk in unity. We walk in peace.”
Charda Pearson is the education and business reporter for The Paper. She may be reached at 828-445-8595 or charda@thepaper.media.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.