Honoring Florida’s Emancipation Day: A Panel Discussion

Panelists: Althemese Barnes, former Executive Director, the John G. Riley House Jarvis Rosier, Historian, the John G. Riley House Diane Williams-Cox, Tallahassee City Commission Moderated by Bob Holladay
It may have slipped under the radar with all of the other news this year, but a controversy has been brewing as to when Florida should celebrate “Emancipation Day”, i.e. the freeing of enslaved persons in the state at the end of the Civil War. Most of Florida has traditionally celebrated May 20, the date that Union soldiers entered Tallahassee and read the Emancipation Proclamation from the steps of the Knott House. May 20 has become a significant community event in Tallahassee.
Earlier this year members of Congress announced that an effort was underway to make Emancipation Day a national holiday. The date most talked about was June 19, “Juneteenth”, the date that enslaved persons in Texas were notified of Emancipation. While the push for making Juneteenth a national holiday has not gathered much steam (critics has pointed out that a national holiday should be December 6, the date that the 13th amendment was ratified), bills have been introduced in both houses of the Florida legislature to make Juneteenth a state holiday. This has generated a lot of blowback: why should a Texas event be a Florida state holiday?
The Tallahassee Historical Society is proud to sponsor a roundtable discussion of the controversy. Included on our panel will be Althemese Barnes, a true icon of the community, who has helped lead the opposition to the Juneteenth date, Jarvis Rosier, Historian with the John G. Riley House, and City Commissioner Diane Williams Cox. We have also invited State Senator Loranne Ausley and State Senator Raymond Bracy, sponsor of Senate Bill 185, making Juneteenth a state holiday.
Please register for our February 11 meeting, and join us for this important discussion. The instructions for joining will be sent in a confirmation email after registering.