Did you hear the news? West Virginia just added a new state holiday to the list of days officially observed by state agencies and employees: June 19, otherwise known as Juneteenth. It’s a day celebrating freedom – the anniversary of the day that, in 1865, enslaved African Americans in Texas finally learned that they were free, two and a half years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and two and a half months after the end of the Civil War. It’s the oldest national celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.
This new addition to the state holiday calendar definitely calls for a celebration, and here's one idea: a freedom-themed road trip honoring West Virginia's African American History.
Start your journey in Southern West Virginia, in the small town of Kimball at the Kimball War Memorial. You can learn more about this one-of-a-kind museum honoring African American Veterans of World War I, many of them from West Virginia, here.
Next pass through the small town of Slab Fork, birth place of famous musician Bill Withers. This town is a featured stop on the National Park Service's African American Heritage Trail through the New River Gorge Region, and it provides an opportunity along the tour to learn about all kinds of ways black West Virginians have contributed to the local, state, and national music scene. Find out more about this and the other 16 stops on the African American Heritage Tour here.
You know the story about the man who raced a machine to dig a rock tunnel through a mountain? That man was John Henry, and that legend may have taken place right here in West Virginia. Make a brief stop at the John Henry Memorial Park to learn more about this American legend, or read up on his story here.
Next, head just down the road to Camp Washington-Carver, named for Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. It was the first 4-H camp for African American youth in America. As another stop along the African American Heritage Tour, you can learn more about it here.
Life in West Virginia hasn't always been kind to African American residents, but this house in Ceredo has. Rumored to be a last stop on the underground railroad before crossing the Ohio River into the Northern state of Ohio, people of many colors have been celebrating freedom together here for generations. Learn how to schedule a tour of this small house museum for yourself here.
It's a good end to a freedom-themed road trip around West Virginia in honor of Juneteenth, don't you think?
To map this trip for yourself, head to Google Maps here. Coincidentally, June 20 is also a significant state holiday: West Virginia Day, the state’s birthday! Now that’s a back-to-back holiday combination that’s really worth celebrating. How about with another road trip?
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