Juneteenth observed as day of education, community service [Video]

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Juneteenth is certainly a day of celebration, and it can also be observed as a day of education and community service.

“Juneteenth actually should be celebrated as a day of hope so we all will know to never give up on uncertain times,” says Kimberly Baxter-Lee, the Paine College Assistant Professor of History.

Juneteenth – the day where freedom finally came for all people after more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas were freed by an executive decree, which some consider to be a true Independence Day.

“Juneteenth is going to be your second independent celebration,” says Baxter-Lee. “With this one here, Blacks actually have a chance to celebrate independence, and the United States was founded on freedom.”

However, public records for many African-Americans who did not have the opportunity to experience that freedom are not easily or readily accessible; many who were buried in cemeteries like Cedar Grove …