Juneteenth the topic at Monday's Democratic luncheon
Monday, June 20th marks the second annual celebration of Juneteenth National Independence Day, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on June 17, 2021. It commemorates the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army General Gordon Granger of General Order No. 3, which proclaimed freedom for all the enslaved people of Texas, the last Confederate state to have institutional slavery.
Walking luncheon participants through the history and modern significance of this new holiday will be former NAACP Nevada State Director Lonnie Feemster, who currently serves as Vice President of the NAACP's Tri-State Conference of Idaho, Nevada and Utah.
General Order No. 3 represented the fulfillment of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863. That document freed all slaves in rebellious areas of secessionist states, but enforcement relied upon the advance of Union forces. As the most remote state of the Confederacy, Texas had actually seen an expansion of slavery during the Civil War. It also had a low presence of Union troops toward the end of the war. That delayed enforcement of the Proclamation until after to General Granger's arrival.
The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to slave states like Delaware that had remained in the Union. Emancipation didn't take effect in those states until ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 6, 1865. In 1866 the nation's last remaining slave population was freed by the Choctaws, a Native American tribe that had sided with the Confederacy.
Juneteenth celebrations date to 1866, at first involving church gatherings in Texas. They gradually spread across the South, often centering on food festivals. The Great Migration of African Americans out of the South carried celebrations to other parts of the United States. Beginning with a proclamation by the State of Texas in 1938, followed by legislation in 1979, all 50 states have since formally recognized the holiday in some way. It's even celebrated in areas of Mexico where Black Seminoles had sought refuge from slavery in 1852.
Juneteenth traditions include public readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, the singing traditional songs, and the reading of works by African-American writers and poets. In some places, celebrations include rodeos, street fairs, cookouts, family reunions, park parties, historical reenactments, and Miss Juneteenth contests.
Presenter Lonnie L. Feemster was born and raised in Reno, the oldest male of ten brothers and sisters. He and his wife, Dr. Debra A. Feemster, raised three children in Northern Nevada. He has lived a life commitment to equality, civil rights and community service, having served five terms as President of the Reno Sparks NAACP Branch #1112 and on the boards of a dozen other non-profits over the past 45 years.
Lonnie worked for 27 years as a residential and commercial energy use consultant in Nevada and California at the Sierra Pacific Power Company. He is also a real estate broker, property manager and owner of a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise construction company. His professional affiliations include the Reno Sparks Association of Realtors, Truckee Meadows Community College Architecture Advisory Board, the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Northern Nevada Apartment Owners Association and the Northern Nevada Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. He also managed state and federally mandated energy management programs.
Having mastered the necessary architectural design and drafting skills, and having learned the ins and outs of the investment real estate business, Lonnie took on the challenge of designing, drafting, engineering and managing the construction of his own 5,000+ square foot passive solar home, along with major rehabs of four other residential properties.
Sponsored by the Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Monday, June 20th, and can be attended either in person at Black Bear Diner, inside Max Casino, or online via Zoom. The presentation will begin after all the lunch orders have been taken, around 1:30. Those wishing to be on distribution for luncheon Zoom links should email Rich Dunn, Men's Committee Events Coordinator, at richdunn@aol.com.
- Announcements
- Black Bear Diner
- celebration
- Choctaws
- Civil War
- Confederacy
- construction company
- Democratic
- Democratic Men's Committee
- Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
- Dr. Debra A. Feemster
- Emancipation Proclamation
- energy use consultant
- General Gordon Granger
- General Order No. 3
- Great Migration
- Idaho
- Joe Biden
- Juneteenth
- Lonnie Feemster
- luncheon
- Max Casino
- Men's Committee
- Monday
- NAACP
- National Independence Day
- Nevada and Utah
- Nevada State Director
- passive solar home
- property manager
- real estate broker
- Reno Sparks NAACP Branch #1112
- Rich Dunn
- Sierra Pacific Power Company
- slavery
- Texas
- Thirteenth Amendment
- Tri-State Conference
- Zoom