Juneteenth Celebration in Hopkins

South East Rural Community Outreach will present a Juneteenth Celebration event on the grounds of the historic Harriet Barber House on Sunday, June 19th, 2022 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. The event will highlight the unique history of the Barber family, the Reconstruction Era, and the history of Lower Richland County. South Carolina Humanities supported this program with a Major Grant.

Juneteenth is recognized as an observance marking the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas to inform inhabitants of the Civil War’s end two months earlier. June 19th – which was quickly shortened to “Juneteenth” among celebrants – has become the African American addendum to the country’s national Independence Day. The mission of Juneteenth is to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of black history and culture.

The Juneteenth Celebration at the Harriet Barber House will include tours of the house, a Chautauqua-style historic impersonation of the figures of Sam and Harriet Barber, exhibits, performances, and re-enactments. There will also be shuttles to and from Congaree National Park where they will have a Reconstruction National Park display.

A tentative schedule for the main stage is:

2:00 pm – Sam & Harriet Barber
2:30 pm – Dr. Herbert Moore (Buffalo Soldiers)
3:00 pm – Dr. Ursela Robinson (Storyteller)
3:20 pm – Gye Nyame African Dance Ensemble
3:50 pm – Roderick Pearson – Inspirational / Gospel Artist
4:30 pm – Gospel Redeemers
4:45 pm – Bishop Wendell Sumter & CreekLife
5:15 pm –  Zeb Harrison & The Sounds Of Praise
6:00 pm – End of Event

On Friday, June 10th, there will be a virtual symposium that will explore the importance of land ownership to Black communities. The speakers will engage on questions such as: what is the history of the relationship between Black communities and land ownership? What did land mean to Black families and communities? What have been challenges to maintaining Black land ownership and the implications of land loss? How does this history matter for today’s justice struggles? The symposium panelists include: Briana Bogan, J.D., Director of Legal Services and Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation; Dr. Bobby Donaldson, Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina; and Dr. Danielle Purifoy, J.D., Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. The symposium is free, but registration is requested: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/junteenth-symposium-on-black-land-remembrance-reparation-restoration-tickets-339625427797.

To learn more about the Juneenth Celebration in Hopkins, visit the website at: https://www.juneteenthcelebrationhopkins.com/.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.