Yes, Juneteenth has been discussed. I append for your reading pleasure the post that stimulated the last major discussion. Note that: 1. The main thrust is, in fact, a question about a Virginia event and Virginia history. 2. The focus of the post is the history of Emancipation celebrations in Virginia. As to your post being a "factual comment": 1. This is a discussion list that deals in historical facts and content, not breaking news (see above). 2. The event you mention just happened (in Texas). As we have seen with various recent news stories, for instance the Duke lacrosse case, initial media reports are not always the best indication of what actually happened. That is one reason that we generally discourage discussions of this type. 3. Your accusation that I am surpressing "a factual comment that doesn't conform to the current politically correct perspective on historic events" is off the mark. There are no facts about any historical event in your post. Finally, I would note that many of your posts seem to be one liners on topics calculated to evoke strong responses. Bumper stickers might work in politics, but most folks on this list will and should demand more. If you wish to discuss public violence in Virginia history, by all means dig into the available research and enlighten us. There are many good topics in this vein: Richmond's Municipal War, the Danville Riots, etc. Gregg P.S. Thanks to all who sent private emails. ________________________________________________ I see in today's New York Times that Delegate Frank D. Hargrove (R-??) now suggests that Virginia officially celebrate "Juneteenth" (June 19, 1865). I have a couple of other suggestions since Juneteenth was originally a Texas emancipation celebration. In Virginia, many urban emancipation celebrations took place on January 1, I suspect because that was the date when the final Emancipation Proclamation took effect. In the rural Southside, firmly documented in Boydton, Mecklenburg County, the annual celebration of emancipation from 1866 until right around WW II was April 9. April 9 presumably celebrated the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to the various Union armies involved in the complex assault on Richmond usually called the Siege of Petersburg. Harold S. Forsythe -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 2:08 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Juneteenth Juneteenth has been discussed at length in the forum, and as recently as last Monday. I don' t know of any reason a factual comment on a subject that has been discussed in the past in this forum would be considered a "a transparent attempt to wind up various folks on the list." Or, are you suggesting that a factual comment that doesn't conform to the current politically correct perspective on historic events is not welcome among this distinguished group of historians since it would be considered "a transparent attempt to wind up various folks on the list"? Surely, I hope not. J South ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.