JuneteenthVA Founder Sheri Bailey

          Playwright, activist, community organizer, artist, educator, and founder of Juneteenth Festival Company, Sheri Bailey knows the power of place. And for her that place is the part of Virginia she and many generations of her family were born and raised in – known as Tidewater.  Ms. Bailey’s personal identity is in part forged in Tidewater’s history: it is the exact location – Point Comforte, later named Fort Monroe -- of both the first selling of enslaved Angolan African men and women (August 1619) and the first freeing of enslaved African-American men (May 1861).  From the drama of that extraordinary coincidence grew Ms. Bailey’s lifework: To write plays rooted in history, to bring people together to watch those plays, and to lead people in public conversations to heal the wounds of slavery without shame or blame – Ms. Bailey’s lifelong rallying cry.   

          Ms. Bailey has had numerous works commissioned and has won many play-writing awards from some of the most prestigious arts and cultural organizations. 

Click here for a list of awards and commissions (below)

Click here for a full list of JuneteenthVA works

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 Founding Juneteenth Festival Company

          For decades, Ms. Bailey’s voice has been a singular one– a voice that connects people to each other and their nation’s history in a remarkable way.  What better vehicle for that purpose than to found the Juneteenth Festival Company, which for many years hosted an outdoor summer festival in different communities around Virginia.  Ms. Bailey’s JuneteenthVA mission: to join people, ideas, creativity, history, and stories together, with the goal of educating about the history of slavery.   “The goal of Juneteenth is to truthfully acknowledge the American history that shaped and continues to influence the very essence of our lives in these extreme and existential times. Through experiencing theater reflecting that history, community members become sensitized to the conditions and experiences of others -- only then, without shame or blame, can we make significant and lasting improvements in the work of dismantling slavery's infrastructure.”

          Much of JuneteenthVA programming is built around Bailey’s brilliant History Plays.  Filled with historical characters, these plays bring to life the contention between America’s freedom and slavery, both at the very foundation of America’s democracy. Viewed in a community setting, followed by deep and meaningful discussion, these works of art create a space to face the truth about America’s past and build a road to reconciliation.

 Discovering Juneteenth

          After a decade that included earning her BA at the University of Pennsylvania and studying playwriting at UCLA, Ms. Bailey felt drawn back to her hometown to raise her daughter where she herself was raised, also in an extended family.  Shortly before leaving Los Angeles, on a rambling walk, Ms. Bailey stumbled upon a street festival celebrating Juneteenth - and that was the first time she heard of the holiday!  By the time Ms. Bailey arrived back in Norfolk – having left a burgeoning career as a Hollywood writer/show-runner – she had authored a handful of what have become her signature pieces.  Her plans did not extend much beyond wanting to raise her daughter here and to continue to write.

          Steeped in her hometown’s history, and recalling her experience learning about Juneteenth, “something clicked.  So many of the Juneteenth stories took place in Virginia – in my backyard!”  Ms. Bailey’s lifework was born: to foster empathy and understanding among individuals from different backgrounds through the retelling and shared reflection on the history of slavery, without shame or blame. 

          Ms. Bailey’s plays started focusing more on the history of enslaved people and their descendants, connecting characters across time and cultures.   The plays merged the painful history of slavery, the current events of Ms. Bailey’s life, and the difficult observation that despite the great hope that drove the civil rights movement, there continued to be great suffering due to the racial divide.  Ms. Bailey’s plays reflect the reality that freedoms gained in law and freedoms gained in communities have two very different timelines.  In addition to drawing from her southern and African American heritage, Ms. Bailey’s plays tend to focus on "people who are without voice, disenfranchised -- the poor, women, children ... "

          Ms. Bailey’s voice continues to rise through her plays.  She has many works in development.  There continues to be much to write about, personally, politically,  historically.  Ms. Bailey will continue to bring to life the breathing tangled web of history with its shining stars and its everyday characters.

Click here for a list of awards and commissions (below)

Click here for a full list of JuneteenthVA works

Click here for videos available for viewing on this site