Questions raised over city support for Wheeling’s Juneteenth celebration
A former state senator Tuesday questioned the city's support for Wheeling's Juneteenth celebration, but city officials say they were bought in.
WHEELING – As Wheeling’s City Council meeting came to a close Tuesday, July 1, a former state senator rose to contrast the city’s support for Independence Day and its alleged lack of support for Juneteenth. Questions remain from both sides on what really transpired.
Juneteenth is a centuries-long tradition commemorating the same day in 1865 when enslaved people living in Texas were freed over two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Celebrations marking the “true” end of slavery have been held to varying degrees since 1865.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday. And, in West Virginia, former Gov. Jim Justice extended the day off to state employees from 2021 to 2024. For Wheeling’s part, former Mayor Glenn Elliott similarly made proclamations honoring Juneteenth in the city and offered city resources to aid in the area’s Juneteenth celebration.
That changed with new administrations on the local and state levels.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey declined to offer state employees the day off for Juneteenth citing “continued fiscal challenges.” Instead, he offered a quiet proclamation ceremony. In Wheeling, Mayor Denny Magruder notably skipped out on making his own proclamation despite appearing pretty candid with his use of the ceremonial power in previous meetings. Still, city offices were effectively closed June 19, but work on flood relief after the June 14 flash floods continued.
Ultimately, the Juneteenth memorial set to take place on June 19 on Heritage Port was cancelled. In a statement published to Facebook by organizer Ron Scott, Jr., the Wheeling Juneteenth Committee asked hopeful attendees to spend the day volunteering for flood relief. A separate celebration on the history of Black music was held that same day at the Capitol Theatre.
Questions remain about the city’s support prior to the memorial’s cancellation.
Owens Brown, the first African American man to serve in the West Virginia Senate, took to the podium during the recent council meeting to express his concerns. While speakers are typically given just three minutes to address the body, councilors took the unprecedented approach to adjourn the meeting and allow Brown to continue speaking after his time expired.
Brown emphasized that Black history is American history citing the thousands of Black men who fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the hundreds of thousands who sided with Union forces during the American Civil War.
“There is an attempt to erase Black history in this country, but Black history is American history,” Brown said. “And the thing is, this here is coming from the top down to erase Black history.”
Brown pointed to what he sees as a discrepancy between support for Juneteenth and Independence Day. Noting the council’s unanimous approval of a $70,000 ordinance to pay for a portion of a fireworks display at Heritage Port for the July 4 holiday and its alleged lack of support for Juneteenth, Brown said some in the community felt slighted.
“For whatever reason, under the new mayor and city council, there seemed to be an indifference to the Juneteenth holiday even though it is a federal holiday,” Brown said. “As an African American, I took this indifference as an insult. It caused me to look at this administration with doubt in its desire to build better community relations.”
City Manager Robert Herron responded to Brown’s concerns saying, “The city of Wheeling was a sponsor for the first time this year at the festival.” Herron later told this reporter that the city offered $650 from the city manager’s budget for the event and emphasized that the city has financially contributed to other festivals, including the Pride festival in mid-June.
Councilor Connie Cain, the first African American woman elected to city council, added that the city’s Arts and Cultural Commission, an advisory board that receives funding from the city and whose members are nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the council, was prepared to offer financial support to the event as well as coordinate the use of the city stage, but that she was told the event was cancelled.
Ron Scott, Jr. responded to the comments made by Herron telling Wheeling Free Press, “I asked [Herron] for the $600 because we needed it to [pick up] the trash, clean up, and restroom maintenance. The money was never sent or spent.” As far as stage sponsorship goes, Scott said he was not aware of any agreement by the city to cover the “$2600 fee for the stage.”
The Arts and Cultural Commission did approve a $1,000 request made by the Wheeling Juneteenth Committee to help cover the cost of performers, but this reporter was unable to find any evidence regarding the commission sponsoring a stage.