Middle Peninsula residents gather to observe Juneteenth celebration

by Molly Hoffman – 

On Friday, June 19, CircleUp Middle Peninsula and Gloucester First United Baptist Church partnered to present a community Juneteenth celebration. Representatives from recent racial justice marches and other Middle Peninsula organizations focused on racial equity spoke.

The Rev. E. Randolph Graham, pastor of First United Baptist Church, was moderator. He said liberation should be celebrated but cannot be achieved alone, so groups working together was what led to the theme of the Juneteenth celebration, “Liberation Celebrates Unity.” Graham emphasized that awareness, relationships, and commitment are necessary to end systemic racism.

An original poem by Middlesex County resident Corrine F. Young, read by the Rev. K. LaMar Gresham of Saluda, told the history of Juneteenth in verse. Gresham represented two Black Lives Matter marches. The first took place in Middlesex County, and Gresham said planning started out small on Wednesday, but then Lauren Wood, who, he said, “Didn’t look at all like me,” offered to do “whatever you want me to do.” Before long the county administration and sheriff’s department were involved, and by Sunday between 150 and 200 people were marching. Later that day Gresham participated in a large Gloucester march he helped organize with Rebecca Clubb. Gresham said the marches were “a great picture of what the Kingdom of God looks like.”