- Emancipation Day in Jefferson County celebrates freedom and the historic Howard Academy.
- The event honors both the legacy of the Emancipation Proclamation and the site's educational history.
- Watch the video to learn why the site was chosen.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This year’s Emancipation Day in Jefferson County is about more than history — it’s about reclaiming space, legacy, and pride.
“Our forefathers I know, that they’re clapping in their graves thanking us for having this day,” said Franklin Brooks, President of Community Friends of Jefferson County.
I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter — speaking with event organizers and neighbors about what the day and the site mean to them.
May 20 marks the day in 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation was read in Florida — declaring freedom for enslaved people.
Now, Jefferson County celebrates at a site that carries deep roots: the historic Howard Academy High School on Chestnut Street.
Built in the 1930s with support from the Rosenwald Fund, Howard Academy was part of a historic movement that gave Black children in the segregated South access to quality education.
The fund helped construct more than 5,000 schools for African American students across 15 states — each one a statement of resilience, dignity, and hope in communities systematically denied resources.
Neighbor Gladys Roann-Watson works with the Howard Academy Education Association — an organization raising funds to restore the historic school. She says she wants today’s youth to learn about the school’s past, and what education was like for Black students in the 1930s.
“A lot of people need to know the background of these schools as far as the background of May the 20th, and so I thought this was the perfect site to do both of them,” Roann-Watson said.
The site closed in the 1970s after desegregation. But today, Community Friends of Jefferson County, Inc. is breathing new life into these historic grounds with this year’s Emancipation Day celebration.
Franklin Brooks is President and one of the founding members of Community Friends. This marks the organization’s 16th year hosting the event — and he says it’s all about connecting with the next generation.
"I want them to walk away with learning something about their forefathers. I want them to walk away with knowing that we as Black people — we are some kind of people. We come from a long, long way and we come from a great heritage,” Brooks said.
This year’s celebration theme, “Celebrating Our Proud History,” is more than a motto. It’s a mission — one that connects past, present, and future in one of Jefferson County’s most historic places.
From freedom declared to history restored — the journey continues in Jefferson County.
In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
