Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating June 19, 1865, the day the Union Army under the leadership of Gen. Gordon Granger made its way into Galveston, Texas, where he announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. Here are some sights and sounds of the celebrations held across Coastal Georgia.
Tybee Island Wade In
Dozens of gatherers sang “Wade in the Water” as they approached the ocean on Friday morning for the annual Juneteenth wade-in at Tybee Beach. The event was hosted by the Tybee MLK Human Rights Organization and kicked off the city of Tybee’s Juneteenth programming. According to the event details, the wade-in invites participants to recognize “freedom, heritage and unity.”
Despite the heavy rain, community members gathered to learn the history of Juneteenth, listen to Samba Savannah and dance in the rain, letting the sound of the music guide their wade to the water.
McIntosh County Juneteenth Celebration
McIntosh County hosted a Juneteenth celebration in Darien at the McIntosh County Recreation Department on Friday, June 19, offering concessions, cultural entertainment by local artists and moments of reflection on the significance of the holiday.
The event was a celebration of family and community. Attendees gathered in the stands, children ran across the gym floor and vendors displayed their art, food and jewelry. They acknowledged the jubilance of the holiday and the historic impact of emancipation, with some adding their hope to inspire a better future.
Glynn County Tigers 7th Annual Juneteenth Festival
On Saturday June 20, at historic Selden Park in Brunswick, locals, vendors, visitors and performers gathered to celebrate Juneteenth with food, music and dancing. The celebration was organized by the Glynn County Tigers, dedicated to engaging young people through community activities such as youth sports. Dozens of booths filled the park and featured organizations like A Better Glynn, Black-Owned Brunswick, and the Brunswick Police Department along with local businesses like Expressions of Royalty and VyStar Credit Union — a long-time sponsor of the event.
Tranquility4Soul, a Jacksonville-based musical group, brought R&B melodies to the celebration while attendees danced, ate and shopped in the park and children enjoyed the games and bounce castles.
Color My Outdoors Juneteenth Remembrance at Ebenezer Creek
Color My Outdoors, a Southeast-based nonprofit organization focused on celebrating people of color and their connection to the outdoors, invited attendees of all ages Saturday on a kayak tour of the historic Ebenezer Creek.
During the Civil War, thousands of African Americans seeking freedom joined the Union army’s march to Savannah, led by Gen. William Sherman. On Dec. 9, 1864, these African Americans were abandoned by the soldiers at Ebenezer Creek. A bridge used by Union soldiers to cross the river was drawn before Black families could follow, leading to a massacre of thousands left behind.
Cultural storyteller Alma Busby-Williams spoke at the site of the massacre, inviting attendees to not only view the beautiful nature as it is today, but to learn about and feel the history surrounding them.
Annual Walk To Dorchester Academy
This year’s annual 9.5 mile Walk to Dorchester took place Saturday, June 20, stretching from Briar Bay Park in Riceboro to the historic Boys Dormitory in Midway. The walk traces the steps of newly-free Black students who had to travel long distances by foot in order to get an education, Dorchester Academy, under the auspices of the American Missionary Association, trained many of Liberty County’s early Black leaders. After a consolidated school was built in Riceboro for Black students in 1940, the campus became a community center. It was there that leaders like Septima Clark and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. organized networks of activists from across the South to educate Black voters and to secure civil rights. Today known as Historic Dorchester Academy, the dormitory serves as a community meeting place and Civil Rights Era museum. The 2026 documentary “Dorchester Academy: A Legacy of Liberty” records interviews with Andrew Young and other key soldiers in the movement.
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