Juneteenth in Heathsville: Education, celebration and unity

Unity: Northumberland High School choir teacher LaTasha Lee (right), one of the Juneteenth coordinators, leads the crowd singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black National Anthem. Photo by Jackie Nunnery

by Jackie Nunnery

HEATHSVILLE—A sizable crowd of approximately 125 people gathered Saturday, June 19, for what is hoped to be the first of many Juneteenth celebrations at Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern.

Offering a prayer to open the event, Rev. Dr. Linwood Blizzard asked that the holiday “not become a forsaken commercialized moment, but a movement and action to move people to realize we are not where we should be but we are drawing closer every day.”

A presentation by Joe Thompson shared the story of Juneteenth in two…. [to-view-more]