2026 Garner Juneteenth Celebration
“By Our Own Labor”
Saturday, June 20, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Garner Performing Arts Center
742 WEST GARNER ROAD, GARNER, NC
Program
Welcome - Mayor Pro Tem Demian Dellinger
Families Introduction
Juniper Level Missionary Baptist Church Choir
Landownership in Garner - Mayor Pro Tem Dellinger
Seeds of Freedom
The Meaning of Juneteenth - Rev. Tracy Bell
Wake Baptist Grove Choir
Reconstruction, Post-Reconstruction and the White Supremacist Campaign
Garner Families in the 20th Century
Garner Juneteenth Community Choir
Remarks - Congresswoman Deborah Ross
“Man in the Mirror” - Deborah Faith McDonald
Legacy & Hope
Closing - Mayor Buddy Gupton
Garner Juneteenth Community Choir
Thank you to Friends of Meadowbrook Golf Club for their support of this year’s event. More about Friends of Meadowbrook at fomgc.org.
Garner Freedom Celebration
Learn. Observe. Celebrate
Let us learn together about the birth and growth of freedom in America
and appreciate its long and challenging journey to reach everyone.
Let us celebrate our successes through and over history
and commit ourselves to a better future starting every day.
History and Origins
Juneteenth is the African American Independence Day.
Union Soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas on June 19th 1865 and informed the enslaved that they were free; more than 2 ½ years after the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863).
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with the Proclamation from the Executive of the United State, all slaves are free.
This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”
— General Granger (1865)
Why is Juneteenth Significant to Garner?
As an All-America City, Garner values diversity and inclusiveness.
Garner has been a multiracial community since its beginnings.
Garner affirms the American creed that all people are created equal.
The Garner Juneteenth Committee was formed in September 2020 by the Mayor and approved by Council to explore and research how the Town of Garner could facilitate the observation of Juneteenth in the Garner Community.
Committee Members
Demian Dellinger – Garner Town Council Member
Michael Naylor – Community Member
Rev. Ben Acton - Community Member
Angel Feimster - Community Member
Professor Mary D. Williams – Community Member
Karen Padgett – Garner Area Historical Society
Rick Mercier – Town of Garner Communications Director
Kyle Kettler - Town of Garner Communications Media Coordinator
Bella Soltz - Town of Garner Communications Specialist