Community celebrates emancipation
Members of Jordan’s Ladder performed during the festival parade. Devin Joseph,Briana Joseph and Ryan Joseph (L-R)
Matthew Griffin, a Black Seminole, posed for a photo.
Tim and Julianne Hare posed for a picture at the Emancipation Ball.
Lew Welge, Abraham Lincoln impersonator.
Samantha Crawford, played the violin during the festival.
By Haley Proctor
Outlook writer
The Fourth Annual Walk through Living History Festival Parade and Day in the Park and the sixth Annual Emancipation and Abolitionist Ball praised the colored troops for their service in the Civil War and their role in the Emancipation Proclamation.
The festival featured activities for children, performances by groups and individuals, and civil rights such as a voting table and a Tallahassee Police Department booth.
Jarvis Rosier, founder of the U.S. Color Troops, intends for the event to tell people history in living form allowing the community to conceive history from past to present.
Event goers agree that the Emancipation is a primary teaching tool for youth.
Matthew Griffin, a Black Seminole, said, “Anytime you can get together and teach the younger people about their heritage in a concise way it is a good thing.”
Lew Welge, Abraham Lincoln impersonator, said “We need to move from a compliance based educational system to a cooperation based educational system allowing peer facilitation and positive peer pressure on our youth.”
The Abolitionist Ball honored former city manager of 18 years, Anita Favors Thompson, with the Althemese Barnes Service Award for Historic Preservation.
Both events uplifted a resounding theme of celebration, progress, and future improvement of conditions surrounding the Black community.
