‘Remember emancipation’: Juneteenth at Stagville commemorates the enslaved and the freed
“It was a ‘we’ community, not an ‘I’ community,” historian JoCora Moore said about the enslaved people who lived on the Historic Stagville site north of Durham.
She was speaking to young members of Servants of Christ Ministries, a predominantly Black church in Garner, during a guided “emancipation tour” Saturday.
Since 2007, the Stagville State Historic Site has hosted annual tours of the former plantation, one of the largest in North Carolina, in remembrance of the hundreds of people who endured enslavement at Stagville, but also to commemorate Juneteeth, the day when troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of slavery on June 19, 1865.
Today, Stagville is one of the few plantation sites in the United States that centers the stories of the enslaved African Americans on the Bennehan and Cameron plantations and their descendants.
‘Respect and remembrance’
When asked the difference between ‘we’ and ‘I’ communities, 11-year old Kesean Evans answered, “a ‘we community’ is when they focus on each other and not just themselves.”
Moore, a Ph.D. candidate in public history at N.C. State University, explained that because of the conditions enslaved people endured, they leaned on each other in order to survive.
Kesean said his favorite part of the tour was seeing the finger prints of enslaved people who molded and laid the clay bricks on the original chimney of the Holman House in the Horton Grove living quarters.
“It was pretty cool to see,” the Wakefield Middle School student said. “They were human like everybody else.”
Servants of Christ Ministries pastor Gregory Smith said it was important for his church to remind younger members of their origins and the legacy their ancestors leave behind, especially on days like Juneteenth, which honors Black and African American history. It was his first time visiting Stagville.
“We brought our youth with the purpose to understand our history, the things our ancestors went through, and to never forget where they come from,” he said. “Being here is indescribable.”
For Smith’s wife, Kathy, the importance of family and community is what most stood out.
“Even though they were enslaved people, they were able to come together as a unit, have their own family time, and the evenings for prayer,” she said. “It’s been very educational and I appreciate the opportunity to even come on the grounds.”
Visit Stagville
The Stagville State Historic Site is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with guided tours held at 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Guests are asked to call the Visitor’s Center at 919-620-0120 to confirm guided tour availability. Those interested can also book large groups, field trips, or private group tours.
