By Laura Walter

SALISBURY — America’s enslaved people used to meet in the woods to talk and worship, away from the watchful eyes of slaveholders. So, it felt appropriate on Juneteenth 2024 to gather under in the shaded amphitheater of Pemberton Historical Park, where tall trees guarded against the particularly hot temperatures.

Liberation & Light was a celebration of Juneteenth and the summer solstice, hosted in Salisbury by several community nonprofits that form the Lower Shore Value-Aligned Partnership. This free, family-friendly event invited people to learn, reflect and celebrate the legacy of resilience and freedom.
Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom for all, since July 4 didn’t do much to free America’s enslaved population.

News of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (freeing slaves in rebellion states) didn’t reach slaves in Galveston, Texas, until over two years later. The resulting joy was so great that the Black community continued to celebrate that moment every year on June 19, said Amber Green, founder and executive director of the Fenix Youth Project.

“If we don’t keep these stories going, we forget where we came from … and where we’re going,” said Green. So, she read from Dr. Clara Small’s history profiles of Black individuals on the Eastern Shore. “It’s so important to know your local history.”

Days like this help us to resolve difficult histories, said Nancy Mitchell, Salisbury’s poet laureate. She referenced her own ‘mixed’ ancestry of abolitionists and suffragettes on one side of her family, versus deep southerners on the other.
Indeed, the beautiful Pemberton itself was once a slave-owning plantation.

As the sun reached its peak, everyone gathered in a sacred circle to reflect on the summer solstice and Juneteenth, led by Kelly McMullen, director of The Delmarva Free School.

“When we talk about what is free—nature is free to all of us,” she said, emphasizing the healing power of nature in mental health, including historical traumas still impact the U.S. today.

This led to a drumming circle, featuring artist Brock Kalim. Everyone was invited to borrow percussion instruments or make their own shakers from bottles and birdseed.

“Juneteenth marks a hard road,” said the Rev. Margaret Brack of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. “But there’s hope.”

Also representing Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, Brack spoke about the significance of water: abundant from our Delmarva faucets, holy in many faiths and entirely critical to all life. She acknowledged the role of water in slavery, from the ocean ships that carried Africans away in bondage—to the saving grace of rivers that masked slaves’ scents from tracker dogs on the Underground Railroad to freedom.

“Hopefully today is a day of education,” Brack said, sharing a blessing with each person.

As a gesture to give back to the land, the group also planted black-eyed Susans in the Pemberton gardens. Native plants have stronger roots and hardiness because they have evolved with the Eastern shore soil to provide the best habitat and food for other flora and fauna, explained Lisa Garfield, research director for Future Harvest.

Plus, a young tree was prepared for planting on-site, courtesy of Matt Heim, executive director of Lower Shore Land Trust.

The event was organized through a community Value-Aligned Partnership, which includes: Fenix Youth Project, The Delmarva Free School, Future Harvest, Young Men of Distinction and Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake. Plants were donated by Williwaw Farm in Preston, Md.

In a separate event on June 15, the Salisbury community also celebrated with the exuberant 2024 Eastern Shore Juneteenth Parade & Festival.