In Wilmington, the annual August Quarterly Festival—also known as Big Quarterly—returns this Sunday to celebrate its 211th year.
Founded to honor the legacy of Reverend Peter Spencer and the establishment of the first African American church, the Union Church of Africans, the festival has long stood as a symbol of faith and freedom.
Before the abolition of slavery in the 1860s, August Quarterly offered a rare opportunity for enslaved Africans to worship alongside free individuals…