Today, June 16th, Verona honored Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The morning began with speeches from Mayor Christopher Tamburro and Bill Brown, long-time Verona resident and vice president of the NAACP’s Oranges/Maplewood chapter, to H.B. Whitehorne’s sixth grade class.

“As we raise the Juneteenth flag today, we honor all of the enslaved persons who were subjugated in two and a half centuries of American history; those who fought for freedom and an end to slavery; all who suffered and persevered through inequality and prejudice’ and everyone who took direction action in favor of civil rights in the 19th and 20th centuries; and all who suffer injustice today,” said Mayor Tamburro. 

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. On this day, U.S. Army Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. While this proclamation ordered the freedom of all slaves in the Confederate states, it was not widely enforced until after the Civil War’s end. Mayor Tamburro noted that slavery still continued in northern states, including New Jersey, until the 13th amendment passed in December 1865.

In his speech, Brown noted that Juneteenth is also known as Jubilee Day. The day serves as a time for reflection, celebration, and recognition of cultural heritage. He encouraged the sixth grade class to strive for excellence, refuse mediocrity, and reject racial prejudice.

Due to weather, speeches were held in the H.B. Whitehorne auditorium. Afterwards, the ceremony moved outdoors, where the Juneteenth flag was raised in the Verona Civic Center. Read Mayor Tamburro's remarks here

In attendance were Mayor Tamburro, Councilwoman Christine McGrath, Councilwoman Cynthia Holland, Bill Brown and Lady Tricia Scipio with the NAACP Oranges & Maplewood Branch, and Ashante Pope, the outreach manager for Rep. LaMonica McIver. The collaboration with H.B. Whitehorne was made possible by Supervisor of the Humanities Julia Peter, Principal David Galbierczyk, H.B. Whitehorne’s sixth grade educators, and the rest of the H.B. Whitehorne administrative team.