We are especially excited to announce our fifth annual outdoor Juneteenth celebration, The Sounds of Freedom, will be held at the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum this year. This event, featuring the professional opera singer, Tshombe Selby, a beloved Roanoke Island native, has quickly become one of the summertime favorites on the Outer Banks. Please plan to join us this year as Tshombe sings both traditional and modern songs to celebrate freedom standing on the porch of the museum. Juneteenth, a holiday recognized by most states including North Carolina, is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of enslavement in the United States. On this day, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the end of enslavement was proclaimed in Galveston, Texas. The day is also sometime called Freedom Day, or Emancipation Day. Given the story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, the Cookhouse Museum is the ideal location to celebrate Juneteenth. Etheridge, the first Black American in the nation to command a U.S. Life-Saving Service station, grew up enslaved on Roanoke Island. The museum honors his life, the crew he commanded, and their legacy. Remembering Juneteenth on Roanoke Island is especially important considering its ties to the story of the enslaved and the fight for freedom. Roanoke Island was the setting for an historic experiment during the Civil War. Following the island’s occupation by Union forces in 1862, it became a safe haven for those once enslaved throughout the region and prompted the establishment of a Freedmen’s Colony at the north end of the island. As reflected on the plaque which hangs on the outside wall of the museum, many of the surfmen who served at Pea island are descendants of those who lived on the Freedmen’s Colony at Roanoke Island. The many commonly local last names shown on the plaque are also a compelling reminder of the area’s ties to the story of the enslaved and the free.

 

This year we are also pleased to announce that Mr. Edward Gantt, a U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) Re-enactor and retired U.S. Navy officer, will be speaking at the event. Mr. Gantt’s reenactment is to pay tribute to the numerous men from this area, including Richard Etheridge, who joined the Union’s fight for freedom and served in the USCT during the Civil War. For those who have a particular interest in the history of the USCT during the war, Mr. Gantt will be informally greeting visitors from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm at the Cookhouse Museum before his planned presentation during the early evening program.

 

The Sounds of Freedom free Juneteenth outdoor concert will start at 6:00 pm on Thursday, June 19th and is expected to last a little over an hour. Limited seating will be offered beginning at 5:30 pm. Due to the expected large crown, people are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair or a blanket to sit on.

 

This year will also be offering for sale a special Juneteenth commemorative T-shirt to honor Darrell M. Collins, President Emeritus of our organization. Darrell, who served as a Manteo Town Commissioner for 18 years, was well-known and loved throughout the Roanoke Island and beyond. He passed away on Christmas Eve last year. This commemorative T-shirt, along with our regular Juneteenth T-shirt, will be offered for sale at the Cookhouse Museum from 9:00 am - 11:00 am on June 19th, and also from 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm before the Juneteenth program begins.

 

The Cookhouse Museum is located at 622 Sir Walter Raleigh Street in Manteo, North Carolina, the opposite direction of the downtown Manteo waterfront. Those planning to drive to the event are encouraged to park at Haven Creek Baptist church which is located at 611 Sir Walter Raleigh Street just down the block.

 

We are especially grateful to The Don and Catherine Bryan Cultural Series, our lead sponsor, and to TowneBank, Surfin’ Spoon, Outer Banks Dreams Realty, and to all who have continued to support this event over the years.