On June 19, 1865, two months after the end of the Civil War, the last enslaved people in the Confederacy learned that they were emancipated. In 2021, Juneteenth became a federal holiday.
At the African American Cemetery in Rye, which was established in 1860 by a Quaker couple, Underhill and Elizabeth Halstead, dozens of people attended the second annual Juneteenth ceremony, a day of solemnity and service. The occasion honors our forebears, including the 281 Black residents buried there. Among them are veterans of the Civil War (16), the Spanish-American War (1), World War I (5), and World War II (2).
The African American Cemetery is one of the area’s most important Black history sites and has undergone significant restoration through the efforts of Dave Thomas, founder and president of the Friends’ organization, and the partnerships he has formed with the Jay Heritage Center and The Osborn. The site, which was long neglected, is well tended to thanks to an army of volunteers and Scouts willing to do some heavy lifting and cleaning of headstones. Meanwhile, we are learning more and more about the lives of Black individuals and families who came before us.
- Photographs courtesy of Suzanne Clary
