The Historic Latta Plantation has closed until further notice following backlash over its controversial Juneteenth event.
Plantation owners say they will use the next few months to reevaluate the future of the historic venue.
“Over the next few months, we will evaluate the best path forward for Latta Plantation and its programming, ensuring that the site is utilized in an appropriate, forward-thinking manner,” Park and Recreation Director W. Lee Jones wrote in a statement posted on the county’s website.
“As our review continues, we feel it is in the best interest of the community and the property to close for now until other plans can be announced.”
As reported by TheHub.News earlier this month, the event, called “Kingdom Coming,” would have been a guided tour where visitors to the site would hear from recently freed Black folk to defeated Confederate soldiers and the former plantation owner.
The event was canceled after receiving intense pushback.
The white plantation owner is referred to as “massa,” and freedmen are referred to as his “former bondsmen,” in the promotional posts.
“The overseer is now out of a job,” the post read. “What will he do now that he has no one to oversee from can see to can’t see?”
Mecklenburg County announced the plantation’s closure Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth (June 19th) a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the official ending of slavery in the United States, although modern-day slavery still continues.
“Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names: Jubilee Day. Freedom Day. Liberation Day. Emancipation Day. And today, a national holiday,” Vice President Kamala Harris said, introducing the president.
“All Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history,” Biden said at a ceremony at the White House.
