The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will host its first Juneteenth observance, and the city of Pine Bluff will present its annual Juneteenth celebration this weekend.
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UAPB — 3RD AND MAIN, FRIDAY
On Friday, from 3-10 p.m., UAPB will host its first Juneteenth in the Bluff: Arts & Culture Festival in the downtown Delta Rhythm and Bayous Cultural District at Third Avenue and Main Street. Sponsored by the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission, the festival is free.
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The festival will feature musical artists, art exhibits by the UAPB Art Department, a variety of vendor booths and food trucks, according to explorepinebluff.com.
This evening-long festival will feature Blues Hall of Famer Latimore and performances by Fuzzy Jeffries, the Kings of Memphis, and Ms. Zeno The Mojo Queen, alongside other local musicians.
This celebration of freedom festival will also feature a farmers market and farm-to-table food tastings by the ACF Arkansas Delta Chefs Association. There will be art activities for the youth.
“The Juneteenth in the Bluff festival celebrates freedom and triumph and embraces the region’s rich arts and culture legacy,” said UAPB’s Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement George Cotton.
“We are thrilled about bringing this event to our community and look forward to showcasing the amazing talent on display,” Cotton said.
For more information about Juneteenth in the Bluff: Arts & Culture Festival or to participate as a vendor, contact Jaimie D. Wright at 870.955.4830 or wrightjd@uapb.edu.
Since its inception, Juneteenth has become the most well-known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in America. It is also viewed by some as America’s second Independence Day.
To access the Juneteenth in the Bluff: Arts & Culture Festival website and itinerary, visit www.juneteenthinthebluff.com.
CITY — CONVENTION CENTER, SATURDAY
The city of Pine Bluff will present its Juneteenth Celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center Arena. Admission is free and all members of the community are encouraged to attend.
The event will feature a diverse range of activities including free food, activities for children and teens and live musical and dance performances.
A silent auction will be held with proceeds benefiting the Pine Bluff Branch NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technology and Scientific Olympics) contestants’ trip to the National ACT-SO Academic Olympics scheduled for July 10-15, 2024 in Las Vegas, according to StuffintheBluff. com.
Several items will be auctioned including five $50 gift certificates from Looking Good, a glass cake plate with dome top, coffee and tea pots as well as tumblers from Indigo Blue.
For further details, contact Mary Liddell at (870) 643-2383 or marylddll@yahoo.com or contact the Pine Bluff Mayor’s Office at (870) 730-2000, Ext. 7, or email martavius.proctor@cityofpinebluff-ar.gov.
JUNETEENTH HISTORY
Juneteenth, a commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States, holds immense cultural significance and historical importance.
“The city of Pine Bluff is proud to host a vibrant celebration to honor this pivotal moment in American history,” a spokesman said.
On June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation emancipating enslaved African Americans, 2,000 Union soldiers under the command of General Gordon Granger finally arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, with the good news. General Granger informed more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans of their freedom, stating “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.” These enslaved African Americans quickly embraced their freedom and celebrated June Nineteenth as Freedom Day.
The following year, freedmen in Texas organized the first annual celebration of “Jubilee Day” on June 19. In the years that followed, the June Nineteenth freedom celebrations featuring music, barbecues and prayer services grew as African Americans from Texas spread across the United States. Eventually, the June Nineteenth celebrations became widely known as Juneteenth as the tradition spread.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. Several states followed suit over the years. In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday after President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.
According to Erin Stewart Mauldin, a professor of Southern History at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and an expert on the Civil War and Reconstruction, “The celebration of Juneteenth today is important because it helps initiate difficult conversations and raises awareness about the country’s complicated and tragic history of slavery and racial injustice.”
Portions of this article is from the blog by Nina Barnard at Explore Pine Bluff.com. Sources: www.juneteenthinthebluff.com; uapbnews.wordpress.com – Experience the Spirit of Juneteenth at the UAPB Juneteenth in the Bluff: Arts & Culture Festival; nmaahc.si.edu – Juneteenth Senses of Freedom: Exploring the Tastes, Sounds and Experiences of an African American Celebration; www.history.com – What is Juneteenth? www.stpetersburg.usf.edu – Juneteenth: The complicated history, significance and celebration around the struggle for freedom.