Juneteenth presentation notes accomplishments of area former … – Herald-Whig

Posted: Jun. 13, 2017 9:15 am

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Juneteenth was celebrated early at the Hannibal Free Public Library on Monday.

Jim's Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center Executive Director Faye Dant presented local Civil War history, notable accomplishments of former Marion County slaves and community points of interest relating to African-American history.

Tying her presentation together was a four-panel exhibit on tour from Jefferson City's Missouri State Archives, titled "Divided Loyalties." The panel explains slavery in Missouri and African-Americans' role in the Civil War, among other similar topics.

"It's important for young people to know their roots and know that their descendants did good things in the community," Dant said. "Kids don't necessarily get this history in school, and this presentation gives people the opportunity to hear it."

During her presentation, Dant displayed a book she has been working on, tentatively titled "Enslavement to Emancipation." The book is filled with documents and photographs relating to African-American residents in Hannibal and Marion County. Several pages show the lineage and death certificates of many of the residents, and she encouraged audience members to submit their family history.

"If you're a native, you know some (of the well-known last names of residents) go far back," said Dant, a fifth-generation Hannibal resident.

She added that out-of-work writers during the Great Depression were tasked by the Works Progress Administration to interview and transcribe the stories of former slaves. Today people have access to those records.

"Too often, it was if you didn't tell it to your children, then that history is not documented anywhere," Dant said.

Gale Conley, whose grandfather was once a slave, attended the presentation so he could learn more about Hannibal's African-American history.

"I came because I wanted to know more about the town and the people in the town," he said. "I also enjoy what the Dants are doing (with historical research and Jim's Journey)."

Juneteenth, held annually on June 19, commemorates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas and the emancipation of African-American slaves throughout the Confederate South.

On that day, federal troops arrived in Texas to force the freedom of slaves more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

For the last five years, the Hannibal Free Public Library has invited Dant to present an early Juneteenth program. Dant is on the board for the Missouri State Archives and was able to secure the loan of the "Divided Loyalties" exhibit, she said.

The exhibit will be displayed in the Hannibal library through July.

The 20th annual Juneteenth celebration will be held in Hannibal next Monday. There will be a 3 p.m. showing of the movie "The Children's March" at B&B Theatre. Following the showing, there will be a scavenger hunt downtown with prizes, Jim's Journey museum tours, a soul food demonstration and a cookout at 5 p.m.

The celebration is free and open to the public.

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Juneteenth presentation notes accomplishments of area former ... - Herald-Whig