Every Monday, Cardinal & Pine makes its picks for our favorite events of the week in North Carolina. This week, June 16-22.
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from the executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
That’s how the order of June 19, 1865 went, as Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and freed some of the last known enslaved people in the United States. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued in September 1862, but freedom came slowly.
A year after the news reached Galveston, local Black folks held a “jubilee.” Through the years, that freedom celebration became Juneteenth, and though it wasn’t formally recognized as a federal holiday until President Biden did it in 2021, it’s one of the most important American holidays. There are plenty of Juneteenth celebrations across North Carolina this week. I’ll highlight a few below, as well as some more North Carolina happenings.
Under the Oaks Arts Festival
Corolla, NC
Tuesday – Wednesday
This is one of your best opportunities to connect with and buy from local artists on the coast.
Whalehead, a restored, 1920s-era mansion in Corolla, plays host to the Under the Oaks Arts Festival, a two-day art show loaded down with local talents. Expect pottery, glasswork, painting, photography, jewelry, and more.
Emancipation Tour
Historic Stagville plantation
Durham, NC
Thursday, June 19, 11 am – 3 pm
Few things make the truth about slavery feel more real than walking a plantation grounds and visiting the ramshackle houses where people were once kept as property.
On Juneteenth, historic Stagville in Durham honors the occasion with free walking tours. Stagville was one of North Carolina’s largest plantations, with more than 900 enslaved people. The tours will tell the stories of the people who were enslaved here. It takes about 90 minutes to complete, with stops outdoors and indoors, according to North Carolina Historic Sites.
Juneteenth in Greenville
Greenville, NC
Saturday, June 21, 5-9 pm
The “Black Belt” is a term used to describe the parts of the South that were dominated by the economics of slavery.
This region, which includes parts of eastern and northeastern North Carolina, is still home to some of the South’s largest Black populations.
Which makes Greenville as fitting a place as any to honor this holiday.
Look for food, music, a Black-owned vendor fair, fireworks and more. More info here.
For a longer listing of North Carolina’s Juneteenth events, check out this guide from ABC-11.
