SANDUSKY — The Juneteenth National Independence Day marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned that they had been freed two years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation.
Many people celebrate Juneteenth in different ways, from festivals to historical celebrations, remembering those who fought for freedom.
Today in Clyde, Ohio, a former enslaved African American named Peter Pointz was honored with a headstone 120 years after his death.
Pointz escaped slavery from Kentucky in 1848; he traveled through the Underground Railroad in Northeast Ohio, settling in Sandusky. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, requiring people in free states to return enslaved people to the South. Pointz wrote in his autobiography, "I was afraid for our safety, then we moved to Canada."
Pointz moved to Windsor, Canada, to become a farmer but eventually returned to the U.S. and settled in Clyde. Pointz was able to buy his freedom from his former slave master; according to his autobiography, it cost $150. He lived in Clyde from 1860 until his death on March 25, 1898.
Pointz was buried in the historical McPherson cemetery in Clyde; for 120 years, he was left without a marker.
"If a person doesn't have a headstone on their grave, that person can be forgotten," said Clyde Museum Operations Director Gene Smith.
After reading Pointz's autobiography, Smith was eager to find his resting place. Smith said they knew he was buried in McPherson Cemetery, but they didn't know where. Eventually, researchers could find an original map and locate Pointz's unmarked grave.
"I just thought about the thousands of times that people walked over his grave and didn't know that he was buried there. However, a marker marks that in history and makes it permanent. It tells us about who this person is, and maybe inspire someone to know more about him as a person in his journey," said Smith.
After raising funds, the museum purchased a headstone for Pointz; the headstone symbolizes his walk to freedom, the others he helped set free through the Underground Railroad and how far black history has come.
"This is a person worth remembering, not based on the color of his skin, not based on where he was from, not based on how much money he had, but who he was as a person," said Smith.
Smith said that after reading his autobiography, he learned that Pointz was a man of great courage and bravery.
"He valued his freedom; a man of resiliency was knocked down a lot of times in life, it seems, according to his autobiographical story, but he kept coming back," said Smith.
The ceremony was filled with people from all over Ohio paying their respects to the once enslaved man, like Debrah Lee. Lee said today was her first time celebrating Juneteenth.
"This reminds us of who we really are as people, who we really are as family and how far we have come. We can't forget our history, because our history is what made us who we are," said Lee.
Dr. Regina Vincent Williams is a co-researcher with a community of Clyde; she said she believes Pointz can feel the jubilation from today's ceremony.
"We can celebrate Juneteenth, but we have lots and lots of miles to go before we can all have a day of jubilation. We are still fighting equality for all, jobs and housing; there's a lot that we can still accomplish as a country," said Williams.
