{"id":4666,"date":"2026-06-19T11:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:03:59","slug":"editorial-on-juneteenth-celebrate-and-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666","title":{"rendered":"Editorial: On Juneteenth,  celebrate and remember"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Across Central Florida, today and throughout the weekend, expect vibrant celebrations of African American culture and community, replete with food, entertainment, art and history. The holiday of Juneteenth \u2014 which commemorates the day the last slaves in the nation were declared to be free \u2014 is now a federal holiday, and it\u2019s understandable that most events focus on joy, pride and community.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4664\">Maxwell: Readers have good, tough questions for mayoral candidates<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Juneteenth in Orlando: Celebrate with these events<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"3gujecj11F\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/06\/18\/juneteenth-in-orlando-celebrate-with-these-events\/embed\/#?secret=fxeRvVvPVu#?secret=3gujecj11F\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cJuneteenth in Orlando: Celebrate with these events\u201d \u2014 Orlando Sentinel\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But there are other places in Central Florida that remind us of how hard-won these celebrations are \u2014 places sometimes commemorated by a small metal plaque, other times not identified at all.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s the section of Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando where approximately 500 Klansmen, led by officers on horseback, walked slowly in a long line intended as a clear act of intimidation against voters. The marchers were mostly silent, but a reporter for the Orlando Evening Reporter=Star was handed an envelope with an unsigned statement claiming that the Klan was against violence against \u201call people\u201d but also proclaimed itself to be a beacon of white supremacy and the \u201cpurity of the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are the streets of Ocoee that once held a tight-knit community of African-American residents. It went up in flames on November 3, 1920, a few days after that Klan march, after some residents resisted paying a poll tax. The next day\u2019s edition of the Reporrer-Star noted, almost casually, that five Black residents \u201chad been cremated in houses in which they had congregated,\u201d while prominent Black businessman July Perry was taken to the county jail \u2014 only to be removed hours later and lynched. Many of the residents fled, but the best estimates of the carnage that night put the death toll between 30 and 60, making it the bloodiest day in the nation\u2019s history of election-day violence.<\/p>\n<p>There are the long-gone homes of Groveland\u2019s Black community, which emptied in 1949 in the bloody aftermath of a false rape accusation that targeted Black men who who would come to be known collectively as the Groveland Four. A few days after the men were arrested, a mob \u2014 frustrated that they were not allowed to remove the men from the county jail and lynch them \u2014 burned some houses and shot into others, One of the four accused men, Ernest Thomas, escaped and was lynched in Madison County. The others were tried, with two sentenced to death and one, 16-year-old Charles Greenlee, to life in prison.<\/p>\n<p>There is the unidentified stretch of road near Clermont where then-Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall pulled over and shot two of those men \u2014 war veterans Sam Shepherd and Walter Irvin \u2014 after the state Supreme Court vacated their convictions and ordered them returned to Tavares to be retried. There is the Harry T. &amp; Harriette V. Moore Cultural Center in Mims, built on the site of the home shared by the civil rights leaders, which was fire-bombed on Christmas Day 1951. That case is still unsolved, but suspicion settled almost immediately on McCall, whom the Moores had criticized fiercely after the shooting. And then there is County Road 450A near Umatill, which was rightfully stripped of McCall\u2019s name in 2007 after area residents protested the honor toward one of the most viciously\u00a0 racist sheriffs in Florida history. As an antidote, we offer a February Facebook post by Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who urged the Legislature to fund compensation for the families of the Groveland Four and and recommended that Floridians \u201cconfront the worst chapters of our history in the hopes that we never repeat them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <!--Ad-Slot: outstream_video--><\/p>\n<p>There is the Wells\u2019Built museum in the Parramore neighborhood, which marks the 1923 lynching of Arthur Henry, and many more whose exact locations are not known.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4662\">Orlando exhibit spotlights women veterans as nation\u2019s 250th approaches<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But there are also quiet signs of reclamation, starting with the once-thriving communities of Goldsboro near Sanford, Jones Town in Orlando (one of the earliest all-Black neighborhoods in Florida) and Parramore. Eatonville is nationally known as the nation\u2019s first incorporated municipality with an all-African American government. Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach, where the legendary player first broke the color barrier in major league baseball. The Hannibal Square Heritage Center in Winter Park, which marks the neighborhood that was once segregated for African-American residents.<\/p>\n<p>These sites \u2014 recognized or not \u2014 should remind Floridians that Juneteenth\u2019s celebration only marks the beginning of emancipation. It also tells the story of African Americans whose long struggle for equality and freedom was never easy \u2014 and faced brutal setbacks in the Jim Crow era that still linger a century and a half later.<\/p>\n<p>And it should also inspire Floridians to remain vigilant against attempts to undo the progress of the past. Unfortunately, Florida\u2019s leaders seem to have set their sights on any reminder that the state\u2019s historic brutality should still inspire action today.<\/p>\n<p> <!--Ad-Slot: cube_article--><\/p>\n<p>Forgetting the past is the first step toward repeating it. Today, as Floridians celebrate the birth of liberty and hope, of personhood, for tens of thousands of people across our state (which actually received its notice of the Emancipation Proclamation a month before Juneteenth on May 20) we should also acknowledge how much we have all been enriched by the progress toward equal treatment, and find new resolve to defend it against those who seek to roll back the clock.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4660\">Letters: We can\u2019t depend on Tallahassee | \u2018In God We Trust\u2019 represents America<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Across Central Florida, today and throughout the weekend, expect vibrant celebrations of African American culture and community, replete with food, entertainment, art and history. The holiday of Juneteenth \u2014 which commemorates the day the last slaves in the nation were declared to be free \u2014 is now a federal holiday, and it\u2019s understandable that most [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Across Central Florida, today and throughout the weekend, expect vibrant celebrations of African American culture and community, replete with food, entertainment, art and history. The holiday of Juneteenth \u2014 which commemorates the day the last slaves in the nation were declared to be free \u2014 is now a federal holiday, and it\u2019s understandable that most [\u2026]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666\"},\"wordCount\":941,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Editorials\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666\",\"name\":\"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1079},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=4666#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Across Central Florida, today and throughout the weekend, expect vibrant celebrations of African American culture and community, replete with food, entertainment, art and history. The holiday of Juneteenth \u2014 which commemorates the day the last slaves in the nation were declared to be free \u2014 is now a federal holiday, and it\u2019s understandable that most [\u2026]","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember","datePublished":"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666"},"wordCount":941,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp","articleSection":["Editorials","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666","name":"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-19T11:03:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/63cd43117f8ad214144bf1eae460f4c9.webp","width":1024,"height":1079},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4666#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Editorial: On Juneteenth, celebrate and remember"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}