emancipation

Formerly enslaved tradesman Peter Oliver purchased his freedom from slavery on June 13, 1800. His remarkable life and legacy are being celebrated where he last lived and raised a family, in what was then the town of Salem. A public gathering place will be built in his honor on the land he once farmed.

Juneteenth, now federally recognized, celebrates the emancipation of African Americans who were enslaved. But the history of this holiday is not as simple…