JUNETEENTH 2020
IN ORANGE, VA
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865: the day that the Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
Since 2007, The Arts Center in Orange has worked in collaboration with The Orange County African American Historical Society to celebrate Juneteenth in Orange, VA. Beginning in 2016, James Madison’s Montpelier joined us in co-hosting the annual event. Despite being unable to host this year’s celebration in person, all three organizations are working together to celebrate this important day both online and on Main Street in Orange.
At The Arts Center in Orange, our mission is to increase the quality of life in our community by promoting an appreciation for fine contemporary arts, and our programming this year is focused on the idea of “homecoming”, a central theme of Juneteenth. Our full program includes:
From the Archives: A multimedia display in our shopfront window at 129 E Main Street (map) featuring news articles drawn from the archives of the OCAAHS. Online, you can learn more about the contributions of the African American community to Orange, VA, and view “Discovering Little Petersburg,” a documentary about the history of the freed slave community outside the Town of Orange.
Artist Spotlight | Darrell Rose: Perhaps best known for his music, Darrell Rose is also a talented visual artist. His practice is heavily influenced not only by the work of visual artists including Jean Michel Basquiat and Paul Klee, but also the rhythms founds in West African drumming, which he studied with West African Master Drummers Mor Tiam of Senegal, Abdou Kunta of Senegal, and Babatunde Olatunji of Nigeria.
Homecoming | Tracing Family Legacies: Connecting the present to the past is an important part of this day, and this project provides a guide on tracing your own family history. No matter your heritage, you can dive into your family’s history and learn something new.
FROM THE
ARCHIVES
“Black baseball in Virginia was family and community baseball through Jim Crow segregation, the Civil Rights movement, and the early stages of integration. Nearly every community statewide had at least one black baseball team between 1930 and 1970.”
-Excerpt from "Sunday Coming": Black Baseball in Virginia by Darrell J. Howard
Shown here, the Tigers were the predecessors of the "Orange Nats", and were formed shortly after John Porterfield Park was built and opened in the early 1940's.
In this photo, the young man sitting in the front was the scorekeeper. His name is George Ezekiel Sherman, also known as "Zigger" Sherman.
Front row, from left to right: Clarence Snead, Harry Humes, Lomas Terril, Andrew Snead, Robert "Bob" Johnson, William "Bootney" Alexander, Robert Jones, and Joe Maddox.
Back row, from left to right: Gus Ellis, Joe Westley, Gerald Starks, Edward "Ned" Snead, Linwood Snead, Otis Ashton, and "Flip" Robinson.
REDISCOVERING
LITTLE PETERSBURG
Just after the Civil War, newly-freed African Americans faced the daunting challenge of where to live and how to survive in an often hostile social order. One solution was to establish self-sufficient freedman’s villages, and these communities thrived up into the mid-20th century, fading as younger generations moved away to take advantage of job opportunities in the cities. One such freedman’s village is Little Petersburg. Located in Orange County, Virginia, Little Petersburg survives to this day, mostly because of a small church and its dedicated congregation. “Rediscovering Little Petersburg” takes a look at this remarkable community and its church through the eyes of people who were born and raised there.
A film by Phil and Susie Audibert (AHHA Productions).
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
DARRELL ROSE
Charlottesville-based Artist, Musician, and Teacher Darrell Rose speaks with our Executive Director, Anna Pillow, about his artistic practice. Perhaps best known for his music, Rose uses his training in West African drumming as inspiration for his visual work, connecting light and sound in new harmonies on his canvas.
TRACING
FAMILY LEGACIES
Connecting the present to the past is an important part of Juneteenth. This booklet is a guide to tracing your own family history. No matter your heritage, you can use this guide to learn more about your family’s history through the things that matter most: the experiences we share with our loved ones, family recipes, and important memories.
Looking for more about Juneteenth in Orange, VA?
Take a look at the OCAAHS Juneteenth 2020 website to learn more about Juneteenth in Orange, VA.
This project is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts
