Liberation & Freedom Day is a holiday celebrated in Charlottesville each March 3, to mark the day in 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Phillip Sheridan and his troops arrived in the city and liberated more than 14,000 enslaved people.
I’m admitting here that I was today years old when I learned that fact.
I learned it because I was tasked with writing up a news item about the 2026 Liberation & Freedom Day Celebration scheduled on Tuesday, March 3, from noon to 2 p.m. at the UVA Chapel.
The UVA Division for Community Engagement and Equal Opportunity and the Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA are the co-hosts of the event, which will bring together University and local community members.
The program will begin at noon as the UVA Chapel bells toll for a moment of silence.
Featured participants include:
- A Solo by Rev. Dr. Xavier V. Jackson, Pastor, Chapman Grove Baptist Church
- Charlottesville Resolution reading by Mayor Juandiego Wade, City of Charlottesville
- Liturgical dance by Veronica Price-Thomas
- Keynote speaker: Apostle Sarah A. Kelley
- Optional tour of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers
The UVA Chapel bells will toll again at 1 p.m., before the community luncheon, which will take place in the Lower West Oval of the Rotunda.
Note: this is all going on in spite of what the Trumpers and the MAGAs who ran Jim Ryan off to put one of their own in the president’s office did last year to pretend that diversity, equity and inclusion is a bad thing.
Details
- The event is free and open to the public.
- Advance registration is encouraged to for those attending the luncheon to ensure meals and seating.
- For more information or to register, visit virginia.edu/important-dates/2026-liberation-freedom-day-celebration.
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Chris Graham
