MACON, Ga. — On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, we celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War.
Juneteenth's original date is June 19, 1865, when the last group of enslaved people in the South learned that they were free.
This came around two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
158 years ago on this day, union soldiers reached Galveston Bay in Texas and announced all enslaved people were freed by executive order.
In 2021, a federal law made Juneteenth as a federal holiday.
Now, people nationwide continue to celebrate the historical day.
Here in Central Georgia, many are celebrating Juneteenth by visiting places that highlight African American history, freedom and future leaders.
The Macon Arts Alliance is hosting a "Juneteenth Pop-Up" exhibit.
The exhibit includes pieces of art from many here in Central Georgia and highlights their independence as black artists.
Rhonda Miller is a self-trained artist from Macon.
"Juneteenth is a celebration of a day of black freedom," Miller said. "It means freedom from slavery, so now I take this year as a rejoice. The freedom that many of our ancestors died for us, for our freedom."
Miller said when she heard the Macon Arts Alliance is hosting a Juneteenth pop-up exhibit, she knew she needed to submit something.
"We artists can express our feelings, expression, and the depth of our past to learn about anger and hate," Miller said. "Now that I know about Juneteenth and the real truth, I feel free and I have the true freedom to express myself."
Sydnee Robertson is from Macon, went to Central High School, and now teaches art at John R. Lewis Elementary School.
She said her experience is like coming full circle and teaching art, which is a communicative medium. She says it is something everyone can relate to.
"To reflect on the fight for freedom that is still kind of going on, fight for equality, the things that we have achieved and are still achieving," Robertson said.
The piece Robertson submitted for the Juneteenth pop-up exhibit is called "American Dreaming" and says her art is a way to portray how she feels as a black woman in America.
"Having the opportunity to stand here and celebrate Juneteenth through my artwork, that was never thought about back then," Robertson said. "But now, we have opportunities and we can go for things that we would have never dreamed of."
Over at the Tubman Museum, they have a new exhibit called "Untold Stories: Macon's African American History".
Sarena Jemison came from Albany to visit and check it out.
"The exhibit kind of tells me where I'm from as a growing Black woman and it also kind of helps me learn more about my history," Jemison said.
Jemison is only 13 years old and says some school systems leave out important stuff that future generations need to learn.
"Juneteenth has helped me with my own confidence and I never really saw this side of me until I started learning more about African American history and about Juneteenth," she said.
Steven and Melissa Cape are from Macon and said they learned a lot of things that once happened in their front yards.
"Being here and seeing so many different generations of people, we've seen children here, we're seeing adults, we're seeing everyone celebrating the importance of this day and for us, we wanted to just experience that as well," Cape said. "Black history is American history and I think everyone should come out and experience it."
The Macon Arts Alliance's Juneteenth pop-up is here until this Friday, June 21 and the Tubman Museum exhibit runs through Saturday, June 22.