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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.