Join Jonnie Mae Perry for Journey to Juneteenth
- Vero Minute
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Juneteenth is one of those things most people in Vero Beach would say they know. Federal holiday, June 19, end of slavery. Check, check, check. But knowing a date isn't the same as knowing the story behind it and why it matters.
To celebrate, Jonnie Mae Perry, Gifford native, executive director of the Gifford Community Cultural and Resource Center (GCCRC), and newly appointed president of the Indian River County Historical Society, invites you to join her and Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs for the Journey to Juneteenth luncheon at the Gifford Community Center, 4855 43rd Ave. Saturday, June 13 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The luncheon was made possible in part by our very own Baerbel O'Haire. All are welcome. The suggested donation is $20. For tickets, call 772-985-7573 or email jonnieperry@gccrc.net.
Listen to an interview with Jonnie Mae Perry in conversation with Bob Soos here. Fast-forward to the 38:11 mark.
The celebration continues Friday, June 20, at the Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex in Gifford. Victor Hart, the civil rights leader who built Gifford's first NAACP chapter and spent decades fighting for his community, passed away last November. The park that bears his name hosts the outdoor celebration every year with a Junkanoo Band, local authors, food trucks, vendors, and free admission to the Gifford Aquatic Center. This will be the first Juneteenth there since his passing.
Did you know Florida has its own Emancipation Day? On June 19, 1865, Union General Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with nearly 2,000 soldiers and read General Order No. 3. The enslaved people of Texas, the last to hear the word, were free.
But Florida's reckoning came a month earlier. On May 20, 1865, General McCook read the Proclamation from the steps of the Knott House in Tallahassee. Leonora Williams, a 106-year-old Gifford resident, tells her family year after year: her grandmother was in the field when word came. They screamed with joy. Then walked 26 miles to Tallahassee to celebrate.
If you want to take a deeper dive into this history, visit the restored Macedonia Church at 4360 30th Ave. Built in 1908 by Black railroad laborers, it now serves as the Gifford Historical Museum and Cultural Center, part Black history museum, library and archive, a place Jonnie Mae Perry and the GCCRC have spent years filling with the stories that need to be told.
