Hundreds crowd Chester County Historical Society in Pennsylvania for a powerful Juneteenth reenactment

CBS News

5 hours ago

Hundreds of people crowded into the Chester County History Center for a powerful Juneteenth celebration Thursday.
A group of volunteers reenacted the moment on June 19, 1865, when Union troops marched into Galveston, Texas, to announce General Order No. 3, the historic document that declared all enslaved Black people were free.
Retired physician Boyd Myers from West Goshen played the role of Union General Gordon Granger, who issued the legal decree.
"It was magical to me because what I didn't know was how this word was spread," Myers said.
Actors portraying townsfolk reacted with shock. Some of them told enslaved people to ignore the troops who said they were free under the Emancipation Proclamation.
The play captured the confusion and the eventual jubilation when enslaved people found out the life-altering news. The crowd responded with thunderous applause.
"It's just incredible to see all the people who have come together from all walks of life to tell the true story of the freedom seeking and freedom announcements," Karen Simmons from West Chester said.
Organizers said the play wasn't just about remembering history. It was about reclaiming it and honoring it.
"As a first-time playwright writer, I wasn't sure I was going to capture the emotion and it would get conveyed, but that's to the credit of this incredible cast," playwright Richelle Gunter said. Gunter is also a reverend at St. Paul's Baptist Church in West Chester.
The cast continued the commemoration at Bethel AME Church, where they portrayed how enslaved people began the difficult but hopeful conversations about rebuilding their lives as free individuals.
"Black history is American history," Coatesville resident Karla Johnson, who portrayed an enslaved woman, said. "We are woven into the very fabric of America, so it has to be told."
Organizers are thinking about a bigger venue for next year. The Chester County Historical Society had to turn 50 people away at the door because the room was full.