000 people of African descent enslaved in Florida. The news of emancipation was met with immediate jubilation. Spontaneous celebrations erupted. Each year after that the celebrations continued

     As a girl growing up in Live Oak in the 1980s, I have vivid memories of May Day celebrations. It was the one occasion when there was a multigenerational community celebration that wasn’t necessarily connected to a church. We would gather at the site of the local middle school, which had historically been the segregated Douglass High School. There would be good food–barbeque, lemonade, and all of our favorite cakes. There would be games–baseball, sack racks, and other competitions. Most of all, there was joy. […]