Freedom for Black American slaves didn’t happen all at once. Despite the Emancipation Proclamation being delivered in January 1893, slavery continued in the Deep South untouched for multiple months and even years later. Slaveowners didn’t willingly give up control and feared that the infrastructure, which heavily relied on manual labor, would collapse. While we’re aware of national celebrations like Juneteenth that have grown in notoriety over the years, join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on one of the smaller celebrations of freedom local to Tennessee and Kentucky that is still revered today.