General Order #3 - “…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.”
—Union General Gordon Granger, Galveston, TX, June 19, 1865
ORIGIN STORY
The first “Juneteenth” celebrations occurred almost immediately following Gen. Granger’s announcement on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, TX. Juneteenth as a holiday holds significance in that it represents both the ‘ceremonial’ end of the formal practice of slavery in America, but also the ‘statutory’ beginning of a new personal agency for blacks living in America.
In more recent American history, the seismic changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic set against the backdrop of 2020’s near unrelenting unrest and uncertainty found many Americans presented with an opportunity for personal reflection—mainly the possibilities offered by seizing this unique moment in time to chart a new personal and/or professional course in life. Establishing a new ‘beginning’ of sorts…oddly similar to Juneteenth.
It is from this that the Juneteenth Marathon draws its primary significance—the idea of a running/multi-sport community realizing and leveraging their own agency to maximize the resources at their disposal to further benefit their communities.
The Inaugural ‘Juneteenth Marathon’ was held June 13, 2020, when members of the DC and Baltimore running communities honored the Juneteenth holiday by collectively organizing the running event. Starting at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, marathoners ran the bounds of all four DC quadrants—per L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for the ‘City of Washington’—finishing 26.5 miles later at the foot of “Cedar Hill”—Frederick Douglass’ home in Anacostia. In keeping with Juneteenth tradition, a red-themed Juneteenth celebration cookout was held thereafter.
JUNETEENTH MARATHON
Juneteenth Marathon aims to organize/coordinate an annual running event that formally and physically brings together the many disparate local running communities throughout the Washington, DC and Baltimore region.
In doing so, our mission is three-fold:
Foster fellowship between participating runners, run clubs, volunteers and the community at large;
Provide a platform for runners to support their local/community-based running clubs throughout the region;
Leverage the collective resources/decision-making potential of runners throughout the region to help improve their local running communities, the localities to which they belong and, in turn, their individual lives.