Carroll County Juneteenth Celebration Focuses on Unity

HUNTINGDON (June 20) — The Carroll County Juneteenth Celebration was Saturday at the Carroll County Civic Center Exhibit Building.

The all-day event began with a mid-morning parade through downtown and ended with a dance at the civic center. In between, there was great food, fun activities, vendors and plenty of fellowship.

The event, now in its sixth year, is organized by the Carroll County Juneteenth Committee, led by Chairperson Jobina Gordon.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, is officially observed on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. On that day in 1865, the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation was ordered. Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.

Gordon told The Banner the event was all about unity. "From where we have come until now, and we're still fighting for that in some instances. Some people still don't believe in unity.

"It's about our community coming together. We don't come together as much as we used to. I want to try to start that back."

She explained what she hopes people see from the county celebration. "That we can always still come together, no matter what. Everybody is waiting on everybody to do something, but somebody has to stand up to make it come together."

To that end, she credited Tiffany King for pushing her to make the event a reality and for being instrumental in organizing the parade.

King told The Banner, "I'm just glad we can still do it and be a part of Carroll County. Maybe next year we can grow it."