After President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and ended slavery, the news didn’t reach the slaves until Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, delivered it in 1865.
 |
| The Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival had an early start last week with a banquet at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova and the unveiling of this year’s poster honoring the NAACP by artist Wiley Henry, who also is Deputy Editor of the Tri-State Defender. The festival will take place for three days in historic Douglass Park in North Memphis. Glynn Johns Reed is the founder and producer. (Photo by Fredrick Maxwell) |
A community jubilee followed and 144 years later, the news is still being celebrated – this time by organizers of the Juneteenth Freedom & Heritage Festival.
For 16 years, the Freedom & Heritage Festival has marked this milestone in historic Douglass Park in North Memphis. The locals gather for food, fellowship and a mix of Rhythm N’ Blues, hip-hop and gospel that span three days.
This year, Juneteenth organizers are paying tribute to the NAACP, a civil rights and human rights organization which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
The signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the NAACP’s contributions to freedom are both significant, said Glynn Johns Reed, Juneteenth’s founder and producer.
“The whole event is historical – the honoring of the NAACP and its 100th anniversary and our 16th year as a freedom and heritage festival,” Reed said.
Last Friday evening (June 12), Reed noted another first: Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova was the site of Juneteenth’s opening banquet honoring NAACP stalwarts Maxine Smith, Vasco Smith, Rev. Benjamin Hooks, Johnnie Turner, Judge H.T. Lockard, Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Jr. and the late Ernestine Barlow Peters and the late Medgar Evers. A poster of the honorees also was unveiled.
Reed said this year’s Juneteenth would seek to include Hispanic music to include and attract Latinos to the event. “We will also invite the Hispanic community to participate in our health fair,” she said.
For three days, revelers can celebrate Juneteenth’s history by observing or participating in horseback rides, kiddy rides, and youth boxing matches, baseball games, a health fair and more.
On Day 1 (June 19): This is a day for seniors and youth. Entertainment includes poets, performing artists, storytellers, African drummers, majorettes and dance troupes.
On Day 2 (June 20): Black Music Month will be saluted from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Genres include R&B, hip-hop, old school music and the blues.
On Day 3 (June 21): Fathers will be honored on their special day. Featured entertainment includes Kevin Davison & The Voices, students from STAX Academy and others. Gospel recording artist Shay Norman will be the emcee.
More than 20 acts will be featured during the three-day festival, Reed said. Admission is free to the park.
Event sponsors are The Carter Malone Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield Volunteer State Health Plan, Everlasting Spring Water, Comcast, TENNder CARE, Corey Maclin, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Clear Channel, Tri-State Bank of Memphis, Coors Light, Spot Light Productions, Yarbrough’s Music, and Memphis, Home of the Blues.
For more information, call Glynn Johns Reed at 901-385-4943 or visit the festival’s Web site at
www.juneteenthmemphis.org.
