Alabama Bicentennial Celebration Continues
By B. Johnson, 9th Episcopal District
Alabama is in the third year of its historical 200thbirthday celebration. It was in Huntsville, in 1819, where the formal Declaration was penned bringing Alabama to statehood. All 67 counties were encouraged to form bicentennial committees to organize events to highlight this momentous occasion. Madison County formed its bicentennial committee. From it, the African Americans in Huntsville-Madison County Committee was formed. Its purpose was to feature the contributions of African Americans in the evolution of Madison County.
The Committee organized, planned, and executed three events to celebrate the bicentennial. The first event was a 5K Race to the Future,which was sponsored by St. John AME Church. The second affair was a two-part event to commemorate Juneteenth. The first part was an old-fashion camp meeting and baptism re-enactment. The second part was an actual Juneteenth celebration on June 16.
On the morning of June 15, 2019, several churches met on the grounds of St. John AME Church to proceed to Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville. The procession was to meet members of historical St. Bartley Primitive Baptist Church marching from their original location on Williams Avenue. Each group was led by a horse-drawn wagon carrying candidates for the baptismal re-enactment. The two groups merged at Big Spring Park to commemorate the historical baptisms that took place on this site.
A crowd of diverse witnesses had already assembled to experience this historical event. Musicians and choirs from several denominations were already singing and engaging the audience. As the four candidates were brought forward, led by the ministers who were to perform the baptisms, all were reminded of how far, as a people, we had come. The Big Spring had served for many years as the baptismal site for the African American community. This location is well-documented in written and pictorial history. Following the baptism re-enactment, St. John AME Church’s choir took center stage and brought the audience to its feet with two well-known hymns of praise. A meal on the “campground,” which was a typical occurrence after baptism in the Big Spring, was the ending to a very historical moment in time.
Sunday, June 16brought, for the first time, a huge Juneteenth Celebration in downtown Huntsville. Juneteenth is the celebration of the ending of slavery. President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, but it was two years later—June 19, 1865—when enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. After learning of their new-found freedom, they celebrated on June 19, which later became known as Juneteenth.
Huntsville celebrated Juneteenth with A Festival of Voices. The event took place at the historic Huntsville Depot and Roundhouse on Church Street. Costumed actors portrayed some of Huntsville-Madison County’s most notable citizens who lived during the 19thand 20thcenturies, among them Dr. William Hooper Councill, the founder of St. John AME Church and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. Additional information may be found on the African-Americans in Huntsville-Madison County website at www.completingthestory-al200.org.
