What does Juneteenth mean to you? Here's how 6 Greenville residents answered

Greenville and the nation are preparing to honor Juneteenth with a federal holiday, for a second time.

That day commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas received news of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

The meaning of Juneteenth today is marked by many names: Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, etc.  We asked six Greenville residents what Juneteenth means to them. Here's how they answered:

London McClain, 12, participant of Pleasant Valley Connection Teen Center program

"To me, it's a reminder, a celebration about the freedom of slaves and how we all just got to come together. It's a reminder of how grateful we should be that we all have a chance today to not be separated because of our race, and all the great things that have been accomplished over the years."

Read more: Juneteenth is Sunday. What's the significance behind the federal holiday?

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Antoine Marshall, 50, of Greenville, a military veteran studying health information management at Greenville Technical College

"Long overdue, talking about the holiday. It's celebrating a day when Black folks didn't know that they were free. I mean, just think about the time they were enslaved for that period of time. Other people knew they were free, but they didn't. So, it's a time of reflection for thinking about what happened then until now.

"It's a sense of freedom. It's like our July Fourth. July Fourth is supposed to be the liberty day and all that other stuff, but really we weren't free at that time. Juneteenth is our July Fourth.

"What I would hope people will get out of Juneteenth is a day of remembrance rather than just a day of cooking out. July Fourth is cooking out, fireworks. Juneteenth should be a little bit more than that."

Juneteenth: Here's how the Upstate will celebrate, commemorate

Kia Keyton, of Greenville, director of the African American Male Scholars Initiative at Greenville Technical College.

"One thing that I've really tried to look at in the last few years, especially as Covid hit in 2020, is this idea of joy. Especially as Juneteenth has become a recognized holiday, we get to see the joy that our people have. It is like July 4th. It's an exciting time. We can celebrate, we can have cook-outs, we can get together with friends.

"Oftentimes when we look at our past, we have such sadness, many kinds of trials and tribulations of the Black experience. This (Juneteenth) is something we can actually celebrate and be excited about. So, that's what I think of when I think of Juneteenth. This is the joy that our people have in us and we get to show it to the rest of the nation and the world."

Ansilee Smith, 20, student majoring in marketing and art at Greenville Technical College

"It means a lot of the hard work from people that sacrificed their lives, their careers and stuff, is finally paying off. It's also like the right step for everybody having equality and being equal, and separation coming to an end. I have a lot of friends that are white, Black and Hispanic. I look at them like they're family. Juneteenth is like a coming together for everybody. You don't have to be Caucasian or Black. You can just be people. I think that's what it really means.

It also gives like a spotlight to us because we never really had a holiday. We have Black history month and whatever, but Juneteenth is really more than that. It's celebrating the accomplishments for everybody that wasn't able to be here. It's really a coming together of everybody. I think we should celebrate it, going forward, putting more emphasis on it and telling people who are growing up the reality of what happened, being honest with ourselves knowing there's still a lot of change to come, but this is like the right footnote."

Louise Coltson, 57, of Greenville, a dining room associate 

"From research, what I found out what Juneteenth means. It was during the time when we had slavery in America. This was the time that a group of slaves went forth to free themselves — not by the President, not by Congress, not by none of them. People still believe that (President Abraham) Lincoln did this on his own. But the slaves freed themselves. That's why we celebrate Juneteenth. For me, it's just to  give homage to the people who was brave enough and willing to go do what was right."

Bruce Wilson, 12, a rising seventh-grader and participant of the Pleasant Valley Connection Teen Center

"It's very important to me because it's the abolishment of slavery."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville residents share what Juneteenth means to them