{"id":2698,"date":"2026-06-18T12:04:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2698"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:04:24","slug":"cabarrus-commissioner-says-juneteenth-is-based-on-a-lie-drawing-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2698","title":{"rendered":"Cabarrus commissioner says Juneteenth is \u2018based on a lie,\u2019 drawing backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Cabarrus County<\/a> commissioner\u2019s remarks calling Juneteenth \u201ca lie\u201d are spreading online<\/a> and drawing criticism days before the federal holiday.<\/p>\n

Read more Some NC employees get Juneteenth off. Here\u2019s who gets a paid holiday<\/a><\/p>\n

Commissioner Larry Pittman, the lone vote against a Juneteenth proclamation<\/a> approved Monday by the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, used his closing comments later in the meeting<\/a> to explain his opposition to the holiday. In doing so, he argued Juneteenth is based on a false understanding of history and sparred with an audience member during a tense exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t support it, because it is based on a lie,\u201d Pittman said.<\/p>\n

The comments have gained attention online after a video clip from the meeting began circulating on social media, with critics condemning Pittman\u2019s characterization of Juneteenth. The controversy is not Pittman\u2019s first. As a state lawmaker, he drew widespread criticism<\/a> for comments defending the Confederacy, including a 2017 post comparing Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler and later remarks describing Lincoln as a \u201ctraitor\u201d and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as a patriot.<\/p>\n

During Monday\u2019s board comments, Pittman said enslaved people were not freed by President Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Emancipation Proclamation and argued Juneteenth incorrectly attributes emancipation to events that occurred in Texas on June 19, 1865. Pittman said the holiday should instead recognize the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide later that year.<\/p>\n

Pittman said he opposes supporting \u201canything based on a lie\u201d and criticized what he described as inaccurate historical narratives.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue history is important,\u201d Pittman said, \u201cnot what an elitist point of view forces to be taught in schools and ignores the real truth of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meeting then grew tense when an audience member appeared to interrupt.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, it is not your turn, sir,\u201d Pittman responded.<\/p>\n

Pittman continued speaking, saying his son earned a history degree from Wingate University and confirmed his understanding of the holiday\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me sick, what passes for history that is falsehood, and I will not just sit by and take it,\u201d Pittman said.<\/p>\n

After his comments, Pittman engaged in a back-and-forth with an audience member, calling the person \u201cboy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The term \u201cboy\u201d has historically been used as a racial insult toward Black men, particularly in the Jim Crow South, and its use has long been viewed as offensive in that context.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy? What do you mean, boy?\u201d the man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, you act immature,\u201d Pittman replied.<\/p>\n

Pittman apologized to the man later in the evening, saying he should have asked the chair to call for order rather than \u201cfussing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more What\u2019s closed on Juneteenth in the Triangle? Mail, grocery stores, banks & more<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier in the meeting, commissioners approved a proclamation recognizing June 19 as Juneteenth throughout Cabarrus County. The proclamation was read by Sabrina Berry, western regional coordinator for the Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina.<\/p>\n

The proclamation states that Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans there that they were free, more than two years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.<\/p>\n

It describes Juneteenth as a day of \u201cprofound historical significance\u201d and honors Lincoln, Union soldiers, abolitionists, legislators and Black leaders including Frederick Douglass.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday the Cabarrus County Republican Party and The Frederick Douglas Foundation rejects all modern forms of human trafficking and exploitation and affirms that every resident of this county deserves the full and equal pursuit of happiness under the law,\u201d the proclamation states.<\/p>\n

The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Texas, announcing that enslaved people there were free. Historians generally recognize the date as commemorating the arrival of news of emancipation to enslaved people in Texas and the effective end of slavery in the former Confederacy. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.<\/p>\n

Pittman was the only commissioner to vote against the proclamation Monday. Commissioners Laura Lindsey, Ian Patrick, Jeff Jones and Kenny Wortman voted in favor. His vote drew criticism from audience members even before his comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt warms my heart, Mr. Pittman, that you would vote against our Juneteenth resolution,\u201d one speaker, Justin Lewter, said sarcastically during public comment. \u201cThe Confederacy lost once, and every time you vote against it, it loses again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another speaker called for Pittman to explain himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the issue you have with Juneteenth? Make that plain too, and say it in the streets, to the press, and let\u2019s be real about what\u2019s going on with our history and the division in this country,\u201d Brendan O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM<\/span> with the headline “Cabarrus commissioner says Juneteenth is \u2018based on a lie,\u2019 drawing backlash.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Special N&O T-shirts help you celebrate the Canes victory. How to order yours<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cabarrus County Commissioner Larry Pittman called Juneteenth a "lie" after voting against a proclamation, drawing criticism at board meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nCabarrus commissioner says Juneteenth is \u2018based on a lie,\u2019 drawing backlash - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=2698\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cabarrus commissioner says Juneteenth is \u2018based on a lie,\u2019 drawing backlash - 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