Newspaper Page Text
Page 1B
Thursday, June 3, 2021
The Upson Beacon
Emancipation,
Continued from Front
tions by the Mary Lizzie Bap
tist Church Combined Choir
and the Mary Lizzie Spiritual
Warfare group, and a mes
sage from Rev. McArthur
Childs of Mt. Gilead Baptist
Church.
Minister Collier recited a
history of the celebration en
titled, “Emancipation Cele
bration; the Early Years,”
written by David Paterson
nearly 23 years ago:
Thomaston is famous for
the Emancipation Celebra
tion held on or about May 2g
each year. Organized by the
Emancipation Proclamation
Committee, this popular and
worthy local event has an
unbroken [156] year history
since the end of slavery in
Upson County in 1965.
Why is Emancipation
Proclamation in Upson
County on May 29? Although
some yet-unexplored doc
ument may someday offer a
better explanation, it is rea
sonable to believe that on this
date emancipation was offi
cially announced to a large
part of Upson’s slaves.
Generation Wilson’s fa
mous raid through Upson
County had happened little
more than a month earlier
(April 19-20), and the Civil
War had ended shortly there
after. For a few weeks many
of the slave owners were con-
fused about the status of their
slaves, but the occupying
U.S.Army soon published or
ders that clearly enforced
President Lincoln’s Emanci
pation Proclamation, pro
claimed two and a half years
earlier.
In 1937, Victor Thurston
(probably using oral history
sources) wrote that “several
large planters brought their
old slaves to town on May 29
and told them they had been
set free.” An eyewitness, Sal-
lie Blakely, born into slavery
near Thomaston, and
formerly owned by William
A. Cobb, told an interviewer
in 1937 that, “When freedom
was declared, Mr. Cobb
called his slaves together and
read the papers to them tell
ing them that they were free
and could leave his planta
tion if they so desired.”
It makes sense that
Upson’s annual Emancipa
tion Celebration would have
been scheduled on a date that
had the most significance to
the people of our community.
Thurston credits William
Guilford (former slave of the
Spier and Birdsong families)
with organizing the first an
nual celebration. Writing 70
years after the event, Thur
ston is amiss in some other
facts, but circumstantial ev
idence supports this part of
the story.
Most of what we know
about the first organized
celebration comes from Wil
liam Guilford himself, in a
memorial furnished at the
Thomaston Times in 1891 by
the colored Celebration Asso
ciation (as the committee
was then called). Guilford
wrote that there were five
speakers on May 29, 1866:
Thomas S. Sharman, Peter
W. Alexander, Jennings
Thompson, James W.
Greene, and (future Georgia
Photos by Luke Haney
Left, members of the Mary Lizzie Band provided music. Right, Evangelist Shakira Johnson provided the invocation.
governor) James M. Smith.
According to the memo
rial, “the theme of their
speeches was advising us to
be peaceable and honest
people and to cultivate a dis
position of love for and re
spect and forbearance
towards one another, and
also towards the white
people.”Other eyewitness ev
idence includes a letter
written from Thomaston by
James W. Greene on May 30,
1866, in which he says, “[The]
freedman had a brilliant
Celebration at this place on
yesterday.”
In the 19th century,
where were the speeches
given? Only our evidence
comes from contemporary
newspapers. The earliest
newspaper account, in 1876,
tells us that the speaking was
held at the Benjamin White’s
Grove (I believe this was
near White’s tannery and
shoe factory, approximately
the present location of the
city works). The 1887 cele
bration was held “at the
usual place near the depot” -
meaning near the (now de
molished) Central Railroad
depot, which was opposite
White’s tannery. In 1889 and
1890, the speaker’s stand
was erected in the grove bey
ond the Confederate ceme
tery. Around the turn of the
century, Harp’s grove was
reported to be the location.
One detail of the early
emancipation celebrations is
notably absent today. Appar
ently, Thomaston used to
have a cannon - perhaps at
the militia parade ground,
perhaps on the square. The
Thomaston Herald (June 3,
1876) tells us that “a little
after sunrise, the colored
people of Thomaston fired
one solitary salute in celebra
tion of the anniversary of
their emancipation. The old
cannon was well charged
and the fire applied. The
shock was sudden and but
few understood at once its
purport. But soon the 29th of
May was remembered as the
celebration o f their freedom
and [the] shock was under
stood if not appreciated.”
This is the only known refer
ence to the cannon.
Some elements of the
Emancipation Celebration,
however, have remained un
changed through the years;
the official program of sing
ing and speeches, the reading
of the Emancipation Procla
mation, the parade through
Thomaston, and the happy
party atmosphere that at
tracts thousands of people
from miles around. The 1902
Thomaston Times remarked
that this event in our com
munity “apparently grows
more popular as time passes”
- and indeed, [156] years
after Thomaston’s first or
ganized Emancipation cele
bration, its popularity shows
no sign of diminishing.
Take part in this celebra
tion!
Upson Lee Honors Class 0/2021 at Graduation
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Last Friday evening,
Upson Lee High School held
graduation for the Class of
2021 at Matthews Field.
Following the national an
them performed by Riley
Greer, Maddox Jackson led
the ceremony in a moment
of silence to remember
those who have lost their
lives due to COVID-19 and
other unfortunate circum
stances. Class treasurer
Trey Kelly gave the welcom
ing speech.
Jackson offered his
honor address as salutato-
rian of the graduating class.
As the younger sibling of
Bayleigh Jackson, who was
valedictorian of the Class of
2018, Jackson thanked his
sister and other family
members for helping him
strive to be the best he could
be.
“To my sister Bayleigh,
thank you for setting the bar
high and being valedic
torian of your class. Without
you, I would not get made
fun of as much for letting
you outdo me,” Jackson
joked as he found his family
in the crowd.
Jackson quoted various
movies and shows including
the famous Talladega
Nights quote, “If you ain’t
first, you’re last,” to play on
his accomplishment of sec
ond in the class. He lever
aged that mindset to his
classmates: “There’s no los
ers on this field tonight.
Seniors, the night that we’ve
been dreaming of ever since
we were little is here. To
night we’re all winners, and
that can never be taken
away from us.”
Lindsay Norris followed
with her valedictorian
honor address. Norris
thanked her family, friends,
and teachers who helped
her reach her goals. She ac
knowledged the endless ob
stacles that the resilient
Class of 2021 was able to
overcome to reach gradu
ation. She urged her class
mates to slow down and
savor the small moments in
life.
Just a week before the
graduation ceremony, Nor
ris’s younger sister, Audrey,
collapsed on Matthews
Field during field day. After
being life-flighted from the
field just a few days before,
the young Norris was able to
attend her older sister’s
graduation. See updates
about Audrey coming home
on the Front Page.
Norris sent her gratitude
to the workers who saved
her sister’s life and put last
week’s events in perspec
tive: “The events of this last
week have solidified the fact
that nothing in life is guar
anteed, so cherish every mo
ment you have.” Norris
offered advice well beyond
her years to the class of
graduates: “Don’t skip
through life trying to get to
what is ‘important’ when
every moment you have
ought to be important.”
Following the address,
Superintendent Dr. Larry
Derico and Principal Dr.
Jarvis Price presented di
plomas to the 259 gradu
ates.
Senior class vice pres
ident Camiya Neal offered a
reflection, and class pres
ident McKenzie Fry con
cluded the evening with her
speech. After the singing of
the Alma Mater by
members of Upson Lee
Chorus, Dr. Derico led the
graduates in the turning of
tassels as the newest alumni
of ULHS turned to a new
page in their respective
journeys.