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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: Independence Days
BY MIKE RUFFIN
rjffinml@gmail.com
very July 4,
we Americans
celebrate Inde
pendence Day. We do
so because on that date
in 1776, representatives
of the thirteen Ameri
can colonies adopted a
document that stated
the colonies’ griev
ances against the Brit
ish crown and declared
their independence from
it. That Declaration of
Independence contains
this statement among its
many stirring lines: “We
hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that
they are endowed by
their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.”
That statement makes
a bold claim to know the
Almighty’s intentions for
humanity. It also states
an ideal that we should
all commit ourselves
to intentionally moving
toward. If God has in fact
created all human beings
equal and has in fact en
dowed them with those
rights, then we should do
all we can to enable and
empower people to live
out their full equality and
to gain and exercise their
full rights.
From its beginning,
our nation had a long
way to go in living up to
those noble ideals. For
a long time, free white
land-owning males were
regarded and treated as
being more equal and
more free than other peo
ple. Other people didn’t
have the rights and privi
leges that they had. The
institution of slavery was
a particularly egregious
offense against the ideals
of equality and liberty
President Abraham
Lincoln took steps during
the Civil War to end slav
ery. On September 22,
1863, he issued
a proclamation
declaring that,
as of January 1,
1864, enslaved
persons in the
states that
were in rebel
lion against the
United States of
America would
be free. There
were limits to
the Emancipa
tion Proclamation. For
example, it applied to
only Confederate states
and not to border states
that remained in the
Union but where slavery
still existed. Still, the
Emancipation Proclama
tion signaled the begin
ning of the end of slavery
in the United States. As
Union forces advanced
into Confederate territo
ry, more and more slaves
became free, with some
200,000 of them joining
the Union army, as the
Emancipation Proclama
tion also allowed them
to do.
On April 9,
1865, General
Robert E. Lee
surrendered to
General Ulysses
S. Grant in Vir
ginia. The war
formally ended
on June 2 with
the surrender
of the last Con
federate army.
On June 19,
1865, Union forces under
the command of General
Gordon Granger came to
Galveston, Texas, where
Granger read General Or
ders No. 3: “The people
of Texas are informed
that, in accordance with
a proclamation from the
Executive of the United
States, all slaves are
free.”
While some months
would pass before all
slaves in Texas were
freed, and while slavery
would not be abolished
until the Thirteenth
Amendment to the
United States Constitu
tion was ratified on De
cember 6, 1865, the date
of Granger’s reading of
the order freeing slaves
in Texas quickly—the
following year, in fact—
came to be celebrated as
the end of slavery in the
United States.
June Nineteenth - Ju-
neteenth for short - has
been celebrated ever
since. And as of 2021,
by act of Congress and
upon the signature of
President Biden, it is
recognized as a national
holiday. This is good and
appropriate despite the
objections some people
have voiced.
One such objection is
that all Americans should
observe July 4 as our
common Independence
Day and that having a
separate observance of
Juneteenth is divisive.
First of all, all Americans
can celebrate July 4.1
would say that we all
should do so for at least
two reasons. First, July
4 marks the beginning of
our nation’s existence - it
is our national birthday.
Second, it marks the be
ginning of the long, ardu
ous, and ongoing process
of securing, maintaining,
and increasing equal
rights and freedoms for
all Americans.
But the fact is that
July 4, 1776 marks the
beginning rather than the
end of that process. The
further fact is that June
19, 1865 marks a crucial
advance in our nation’s
efforts to live up to its
noble ideals.
July 4 reminds us that
we should all be free.
June 19 reminds us
that we need to keep do
ing all we can to enable
and empower everyone
to be free.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
Local participants Karen Lacey and Chris Curry, part own
ers of A Novel Experience Bookstore in downtown Zebulon,
prepare to hit the 5K course in Meansville.
Runners Richard and his wife Tiffany Moen enjoyed running
the 5K course through Meansville.
American Legion Post 197 thanks event
supporters for helping local veterans
The Pike County
American Legion Post
197 thanks all those who
sponsored, supported,
volunteered and partici
pated in the 19 June 2021
Meansville 5K/10K Fun
Run/Walk fundraiser. The
city of Meansville was
a gracious host, provid
ing their city streets and
fire station. The day was
overcast with a few light
sprinkles, but overall
great weather for running
and walking the courses.
Village Photography
produced a t-shirt with
the caricature of the old
Meansville Train Depot
which is now Meansville
City Hall. The event had
a total of 22 sponsors, in
cluding in-kind sponsors.
Post 197 thanks our
Blue (highest) Level
Sponsors: Accessory
Aero Group, Concord
Manor and Winery,
Moody-Daniel Funeral
Home, Personnel Options,
Pike Depot, TenCate
Protective Fabrics, The
Narrow Path Ministries,
Touchstone Embroidery,
and Whites Heating and
Air; Red Level Sponsors:
A Novel Experience and
Stefan Huckaby; and
White Level Sponsors:
Beacon Security Systems,
City of Meansville, Gog-
gans Florist, Meansville
Volunteer Fire Depart
ment, Michael’s Asphalt
Paving, Mountain View
Convenient Store, Pike
County Journal Reporter,
Pike County Times, Red
Tip Farms, The Church
Above, Rebecca Milby and her mother Janet Minter enjoyed
spending time exercising together at the American Legion
Post 197 5K event in Meansville.
of Jesus Christ of Latter-
Day Saints, and Village
Photography.
We also would like to
thank the friends and
relatives who signed up
to honor deceased veter
ans. We honored veter
ans Lawrence E. Brock,
Drexel Daniel, James
D. Huckaby, Robert L.
Huckaby, Ray Johnson,
Charles L. Moody Jr.,
Odell W. Sheriff and
Franklin D. Thrift on the
back of the event t-shirt.
The Pike County
American Legion Post
197 conducts programs
that help honor veterans,
assist veterans and their
families and educate the
community on veterans
affairs and patriotism.
Sponsorship and event
participation allows Post
197 to continue these pro
grams. The support you
provided for this Run/Walk
event helped raise funds
to continue our programs.
The next 5K/10K Fun
Run/Walk will be con
ducted in the Concord
area in December 2021.
We are working to make
this another highly
enjoyable, scenic, family
oriented, healthy event.
More information will be
provided in the future.
Again, thanks to our
sponsors, volunteers,
and participants for your
continued support of
these community events.
SINCERELY,
BRYAN B. RICHARBS0N
COMMANDER/EVENT DIRECTOR
AMERICAN LEGION POST 197
Pam Livingston ran the 5K, Cole McLaughlin ran the 10K and
Amanda McLaughlin and Laura Caraway ran the 5K.
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.0. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Molena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
Hometown Newspapers
Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
July 8, 1921: A reporter checked a local
hardware store to see what inventory was made
in Georgia and found three items: a mop and two
brooms. Sadly, even the Georgia state capitol was
made of Indiana limestone.
75 YEARS AGO
July 11, 1946: Pike County residents, like all
state residents returning from Florida, had to un
dergo a mandatory two week quarantine. Certain
sections of Florida had abnormally high rates of
polio cases requiring precautions.
50 YEARS AGO
July 8, 1971: Mack Crawford of Pike County
was elected as reporter for the Northwest Georgia
district 4-H council at Rock Eagle. Almost 1,000
junior and senior project champions attended the
council event.
25 YEARS AGO
July 10, 1996: Concord’s water tank dipped to
dangerously low levels recently. Officials reported
the cause was due to a combination of hot, dry
weather and the recent opening of the new ice
plant business.