WS Chronicle

John W. Franklin, senior program manager of Community and Constituent Programs at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, will speak at a Juneteenth luncheon at Old Salem Museum and Gardens next month.

Franklin, the son of the late historian and Duke professor John Hope Franklin, is an expert in the history and traditions of communities of the African Diaspora who has developed presentations on Senegal, the Bahamas, Cape Verde and Washington, D.C., for the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. He co-edited “My Life and An Era: The Autobiography of Buck Colbert Franklin” with his father and served as advisor on the documentary film, “Tutu and Franklin: A Journey Towards Peace.”

The Wednesday, June 19 luncheon will be held in partnership between Old Salem’s St. Philips Heritage Center and Winston-Salem State University.
Juneteenth is the country’s longest-running observance of the abolition of slavery. A special commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation will highlight this year’s luncheon, which will be held from noon–1:30 p.m.

The inaugural St. Philips-Cedric S. Rodney Unity Award will also be presented. It was established in honor of the late Rev. Dr. Cedric S. Rodney, a Moravian minister who led the restoration efforts of the Historic St. Philips Moravian Church in Old Salem. Janet P. Wheeler, a retired vice president of R.J. Reynolds, and Dr. Samuel Stevenson, retired pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, will receive the awards.

Admission is $25 for adults and $20 for students. Tickets should be purchased by June 12. The price includes an African-inspired lunch, the program and a tour of the St. Philips, the oldest standing African American Church in North Carolina.