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WHEELING -- In light of racial unrest in recent weeks, local leaders hope that the city's Juneteenth ceremony Friday will spark reflection and conversation.
Juneteenth commemorates when Union soldiers landed at Gavelston, Texas, two months after the surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Though many Confederate generals and their armies had already surrendered, Union troops were unable to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation -- which went into effect two years prior -- in far-flung Texas until June 19, 1865.
Wheeling's program will feature keynote speakers and musical performances, as past Wheeling events have had. The 2019 event was held at the spot where slaves had been sold in Wheeling, at what is now Market Plaza. The YWCA and Wheeling Heritage Facebook pages will air a pre-recorded virtual celebration at 6 p.m. Friday.
West Virginia NAACP President Owens Brown hopes the observance people to prompt on how the institution of slavery has shaped modern America, in light of the recent turmoil regarding mistreatment of black lives at the hands of police.
"Juneteenth raised the consciousness with what's going on now," Brown said. "I do believe people will look at it and reflect back on what it's really about.
"Slavery is not that far in the distant past as people think it is," he added. "People … of both races will be looking back and trying to understand the ramifications of the issues of slavery, and how it affects the situation today.
Ron Scott Jr., cultural diversity and community outreach director at the YWCA Wheeling, said the event is highly important, as it highlights history even with a comparatively small black population locally.
"It's incredibly important because it does two things -- it shows you the differences and the division that there's been. … It should also give you hope. The fact that areas like Wheeling, with the black population that we have, it doesn't seem that Juneteenth should even be on our radar, but it is," he said. "The mayor had a hand in it, (State Sen.) Ryan Weld had a hand in it, and even though it's virtual, we have a full-fledged celebration."
Scott said he hopes the event will be a celebration of the black community in Wheeling.
"We wanted this event to be a celebration. That's why it was so important to incorporate musical performers into the production this year," Scott said in a release. "It would be really easy to stay feeling down right now, but this is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of the black community in Wheeling."
"When we took part in organizing Juneteenth as part of the Wheeling 250 Celebration last year, we said this will be an annual celebration, not just a one-off thing," said Betsy Sweeny, director of heritage programming at Wheeling Heritage. "When COVID-19 hit, we were unable to coordinate our committee as we'd hoped. We thought, 'What can we do to make good on our promise, and still stay safe?' This is event looks a little different this year, but we hope everyone enjoys it."
The pre-recorded virtual ceremony will be posted at 6 p.m. Friday at www.facebook.com/WheelingHeritage and www.facebook.com/YWCAWheeling. Organizers said friends and family are encouraged to create their own "watch parties" to view the program together.