The celebration continues 151 years later.
At noon Wednesday, Liberty County will celebrate its annual Emancipation Proclamation Observance Day at Thebes African Methodist Episcopal Church in Midway
Liberty County is one of the few remaining counties in Georgia that still pauses on New Year’s Day to observe the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation document. The celebration normally begins with Watch Night services on New Year’s Eve.  
The Emancipation Proclamation Observance Day celebration began in Liberty County many years ago at Crossroads Community in Riceboro. Dedicated leaders and members of the community have kept the program at the forefront of community celebrations.
According to Dr. Hermon Scott, pastor of Baconton Missionary Baptist Church and president of the Liberty County Emancipation Observance Day Committee, the 2014 theme is “Unity — The Key to Perfecting the Dream.”
“Unity really is the way forward and the key to perfecting the dream,” Scott said.
The speaker for this year’s observance day celebration is the Rev. Ashley Morris of Hinesville. Morris is an ordained deacon of the Georgia Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Morris believes her ultimate goal is to continue serving God with the gifts that He has given her.
“I do not consider myself to be a religious person, for even hell may be filled with religious people, but I am a Christian in the truest sense of the word,” she said. “I have overcome obstacles and situations, and I have flaws, which prove me to be imperfect. But one thing is for sure, with all of my imperfections, I plan to share with the world how God is able to save imperfect humans every day. That is my greatest testimony, and it is what prompts me to continue to work for Him.”
During the Emancipation Proclamation Observance Day program, several members of the community will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the community. Donnie Puliam, a recipient of one of the Emancipation’s 2013 scholarship awards, will read the Emancipation Proclamation.
For more information, call Scott at 368-2258 or Lana Walthour at 369-3407.