The Frederick Douglass Honor Society and the Academy Art Museum are hosting a Juneteenth Celebration on Friday, June 14, 2013 and Saturday, June 15, 2013 at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland.
Juneteenth, one of the most important African American holidays in the country, marks the abolition of slavery. It commemorates the date – June 19, 1865 – when the slaves in Galveston, Texas first received the word of the Emancipation Proclamation, which Abraham Lincoln had issued two and one-half years earlier on January 1, 1863.
This year’s Juneteenth Celebration will begin on Friday, June 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Academy Art Museum with a reception and lecture celebrating Easton’s “The Hill Project,” the birthplace of African Methodism on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Professor Dale Glenwood Green from Morgan State University will present information about “The Hill,” which may be the oldest African-American neighborhood in the United States of America (circa 1790).
The celebration will continue on Saturday, June 15, at 11 a.m. at the Museum with an art demonstration by African-American ceramic artist Ernest Satchell, a native of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. After completing his undergraduate degree in art education at the Maryland State College (now UMES), Satchell earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in ceramics from Towson State University. He then began his teaching career at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore where he has served for nearly 31 years. Satchell was responsible for over 20 years of successful art exhibits at the Mosley Gallery at UMES. His figurative sculpture and extra-large vessels are unique on the Eastern Shore.
Other activities on Saturday include a performance of African dance and music by the Sankofa Dance Theatre from Baltimore, gospel music by several local church choirs, art projects for children and families, the “Spoken Word” writings from local youth, a “knowledge fair” with booths that showcase African-American community organizations and programs and Reddie Eddie’s Ribs & Chicken BBQ.
Support for the event has come from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Talbot County Arts Council. For more information about the Juneteenth Celebration, visit the Frederick Douglass Honor Society at http://www.frederickdouglasshonorsociety.org/ or the Academy Art Museum at http://www.academyartmuseum.org/.
In photo: Sankofa Dance Theatre from Baltimore, Maryland (Courtesy of Young Audiences of Maryland)