RICHMOND, Va. -- Several Richmond churches came together Wednesday to host a community-wide Juneteenth celebration, celebrating the day Union soldiers made it to Galveston, Texas, announcing the end of the Civil War and declaring all enslaved people in the Confederate States were legally free.
St. Peter's, St. Philip's, and St. John's held a church service at Peter Paul RVA, filled with songs of liberation and a history lesson on Juneteenth and Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Corey Taylor with Peter Paul RVA spoke about the importance of Juneteenth, continuing racial disparities, and how it shaped Richmond's landscape.
"We don't need to look any further than outside the walls of this building to see the lasting impact that chattel slavery has had on the descendants of the formerly enslaved," Taylor said to the congregation. "It is not a coincidence that within a few square miles of this building, lie five of the six projects in Richmond, Virginia. It's no coincidence that I-95 snakes its way through the city the way it does, creating intention separation between economic groups."
Taylor reminded the congregation of their ancestors who lived in Richmond during 1865, when the Union Army fell in the city, once the capital of the Confederacy.
"Brick by brick, nail by nail, crop by crop," Taylor said. "My ancestors, your ancestors, your ancestors, laid the physical, spiritual, and moral foundation of this city and this country."
The message hit home for Agnes DeLoatch, who attended the service.
"It means to come together as people, that we're free, all of us, you know, all nationalities and all. That we're free," DeLoatch.
Benita Bazemore, who also attended the service, said she remembered when Juneteenth was not a widely recognized holiday.
"It's history," Bazemore said. "It should be recognized."
You can find a list of Juneteenth events going on this week and through the weekend here.
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