As Juneteenth is celebrated, DEI is rolled back in Georgia and beyond

On a sweltering Saturday morning in June, a historic cemetery in Georgia hosted its second annual Juneteenth Family Festival.

Past and present were connected as attendees strolled the grounds of the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. A libations ceremony honored the resilience and the strength of Africans that were forced to become Americans through slavery. Actor portrayals brought to life prominent Black Atlantans that were born during Reconstruction.

“Most people don’t look at cemeteries as a place where you would have a festival,” says Charvis Buckholts, the cemetery’s director of education. “So I think it’s really cool. And I think it also brings a sense of connection with the history that the [residents] – we call them residents, not the dead – have played in terms of shaping who we are today.”