8th of August Emancipation Day: An Idea Born in Greeneville

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It is a Tennessee state holiday that a lot of people do not know about.

It's the day the slaves were freed in the state.

And the idea was born and conceived... in Greeneville, Tennessee.

As noted by the National Park Service, on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in states still in rebellion against the United States. Tennessee, although a seceded state, did not fall under the provisions of the proclamation. Tennessee was under Union control, and Andrew Johnson was serving as Military Governor.

At left, Dolly Johnson with Andrew Johnson Stover, President Johnson's grandson

According to tradition, Andrew Johnson freed his personal slaves on August 8, 1863. On October 24, 1864, as military governor, Andrew Johnson freed all the slaves in the state of Tennessee.

But the date of August 8th has always been celebrated in Greeneville's African-American community west of downtown, as the day of reckoning for all former slaves in the state.

At right, celebrants and party-goers attend the
2014 George Clem Reunion-8th of August Celebration in Greeneville


"We had always celebrated the 8th of August in the black community here in Greeneville," says Leroy Ripley with the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance. "When I moved back home from Washington, D.C. 14 years ago, I was surprised at how people had become so complacent about it. There was either nothing to do for the celebration, or very little at all. The old organization, the Heritage organization, gave us what history they had about the day, and we started anew from there. Getting statewise recognition began as a little grass-roots effort at first, and after we had it going for a few years, it started getting a cohesiveness.. some of the ladies whowere executive assistants at the time, started helping put together an actual celebration program. They did research and started working with Gene Maddox.. he's been a George Clem historian forever and two days."

At left, Greeneville young people attending the 2014 George Clem-8th of August Celebration


Ripley says, the focus of getting the 8th of August commemoration on a state level, had a clear focus.

"We knew we needed to do this for the young people," he remembers. "We needed to remind the young people of their heritage. Of course, that doesn't happen often. Even some of us older ones don't know much about our history that we can pass on to our children. They need to know that everything wasn't always the way it is now."

As the time approached for the 8th of August's big day, excitement among the neighborhood and the Greeneville community grew to a fever pitch.

"We got with the African-American Task Force, and approached Representative David Hawk with our proposal," Ripley remembers. "He was very receptive. Together, we all went to Nashville, and the rest was history."

Hawk represents Tennessee House District 5, the district that consists of all of Greene County. It was he who sponsored the legislation that year on the House side, and remembers the day he was approached with the idea of making the 8th of August a statewide holiday.

"Folks here in Greene County," he says, "were concerned that they had been celebrating the day for years and years among themselves, but there was no statewide recognition. It sounded like a great idea, and I was able to get a ton of information from some great folks in both Greene County and nearby Cocke County. I compiled it and took the proposal and the supporters back to Nashville."

Hawk says, first he went to the Legislative Black Caucus. "I worked with the caucus members to make sure everything was accurate and factual, and they agreed with our findings," he says. "Over time, the momentum began growing as word spread of what we wanted to do."

Hawk says his memories of the day the legislation was introduced are vivid.

"I was honored to have the Black Caucus and my colleagues from the state stand with me as we were discussing the legislation," he says. "Folks from across the state were in the House balcony, watching the proceedings. The fact that they embraced this effort to create this Emancipation Day proposal was a great experience for me."

The 8th of August Emancipation Day legislation passed both houses of the Tennessee legislature unanimously. Every single senator and representative in Nashville voted for statewide recognition of the date.

Meanwhile, members of the George Clem Multi-Cultural Association, fresh off this accomplishment, realized that diversity was the key to their future success. A few years later, diversity among America's voters, especially the Hispanic community, would eventually elect the country's first African-American president.

To that end, the association agreed to diversify its approach to change, even evoking a name change for itself.

"We decided, with other athnic groups moving into our neighborhood, it would be better if we considered our efforts as a multi-cultural association, instead of just a George Clem Neighborhood Association," says Ripley. "We wanted to include other groups and work with them as well. Just a short time ago, we changed the name once again, this time to the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance. We're hoping to promote all of our African-American history in the county, for folks here and away who may not know the history here."

Ripley says, his group gives out a couple of scholarships every year to a deserving student bound for college studies. A non-profit 501 (c) 3 designation is on the horizon, to help raise money for programs and activities the group plans for the neighborhood.

"We had a young lady this past year who graduated from Greeneville High School, who received the Fannie Jones Scholarship, and she's going to Penn State," Ripley says. "She was brought up to Washington, and had dinner with First Lady Michelle Obama. She came from right here in this neighborhood in Greeneville, and we are very proud of that. That helps us get the message of legacy and heritage across to the young people."

The alliance has also been working on a logo that will be featured prominently in publications and at events. Of course, it features the George Clem Wolverine, the former school mascot.

The group's motto is now a message directed at young people.

"What we do.. we do for you."

"The monies that we raise," says Ripley (at right), "go to you, our young people, in the community, to try and make things better for you. We want you to get better scholarships and we want to help our African-American youth achieve goals that they don't see making."

"No excuses," he says, "because we intend to give you the chance to get to those goals."