This photo shows participants at an early Juneteenth celebration in Texas. A quick search of the Chatham Record revealed no photos or reports of Juneteenth celebrations in Chatham County until recent years. Juneteenth celebrations in surrounding counties were mentioned in the early 2000s.

Chatham does, however, have a long history of celebrating emancipation, but on January 1--not June 19. There are many mentions of Emancipation Day (or Freedom Day or Jublilee Day) in old issues of the Chatham Record. We found mentions in the 1890s through the 1910s, and such celebrations could well pre-date the newspaper. According to the news articles, the day often involved parades and speakers.

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