Juneteenth Canceled? Maybe That’s Okay…

By Crystal Good,

This article was originally published on June 9, by Black By God: The West Virginian

I love a good Black festival—music in the park, barbecue smoke in the air, vendors lined up, elders in lawn chairs, and kids with red popsicles running wild. That’s church. That’s community. That’s us.

So when Juneteenth festivals get canceled—when funding disappears, support dries up, and organizers are left hanging—I get mad. You should, too.

But maybe it’s time to tell the truth: Juneteenth isn’t West Virginia’s actual Emancipation Day. It never was.

February 3, 1865—the day West Virginia officially abolished slavery. Not June 19th. Two years after we broke from Virginia and claimed to be a free state. Two years of myth while people were still enslaved.

Celebrating Juneteenth without naming February 3rd is like throwing a birthday party on the wrong day—and ignoring your own birth certificate.

We should honor Juneteenth, but we must also claim our truth. Tennessee celebrates August 8th, and Florida celebrates May 20th. Those communities know their dates. West Virginia has one, too.

So if the fireworks fade and the festival budgets vanish, maybe we’re not losing something—perhaps we can start the story again with the truth.

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