MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Friendship Missionary Baptist Church invites the public to join in its celebration of Juneteenth on Wednesday, June 20, at 6 p.m.

The celebration commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas, one of the last places that still legally held slaves toward the end of the Civil War. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in September 1862 and took effect the following January, it didn’t affect some areas. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered April 9, 1865 in Virginia, but the Confederate troops in Texas didn’t surrender until June 2. Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, June 18 and the following day their commander, Gen. Gordon Granger, publicly read the executive order freeing slaves held everywhere in the United States.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of commemorating the ending of slavery in the in the United States in 1865.

Wednesday’s program will include recitations of poems depicting the devastation and plight of the slaves. A narrative of the history and songs will be brought forth through the inhumane treatment and cruelty of slavery.   

A special segment of the program will include excerpts of life experiences in the early years of Odell (Bill) Mapp – born in Decatur, Mississippi, to Wardell and Exie M. Mapp. He is 80 years of age and the oldest living deacon of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. He is married to Minnie Nunn Mapp for nearly 57 years. They have two children, Odell LeWayne and Natasha Dionne Mapp, and five grandchildren.

Besfanette Whitaker is at her best when performing vocally the Negro Spirituals, which speak of their suffering, sorrow and death. She was born in 1925, and lived through the times when negroes were faced with segregation. There were signs on all public facilities, water fountains, restrooms, restaurants, and school that read “white only.”  She is one of eight children who through many obstacles rose to the top and now they are reaching out to help others.

Jack Hadley is a native of Thomasville, Georgia, and the son of Dennis and Rosetta James Hadley. He was born at Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomas County. He graduated from Douglas High School in 1956, enlisted in the Air Force and retired after 28 years. He was also employed by the U.S. Postal Service and retired after 12 years. He is an avid collector and curator of black history memorabilia.

At present, the Jack Hadley Black History Museum has a collection of nearly five thousand artifacts and traces black history from pre-slavery to the present.

The Rev. Alfred Jones is pastor, and Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is located at 421 Sixth Ave. N.W.