Photo by Justin Shaw / Special to The Commercial Appeal
When Memphis began its Juneteenth festival 17 years ago, people didn’t know what it was, according to the executive director of the local fest. That’s changed now, as most states observe Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.
When a Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival began 17 years ago in Memphis, people did not know what it was.
“I used to have to spell it — they did not have a clue,” says Glynn Johns Reed, executive director of the local Juneteenth festival.
Photo by Justin Shaw / Special to The Commercial Appeal
When Memphis began its Juneteenth festival 17 years ago, people didn’t know what it was, according to the executive director of the local fest. That’s changed now, as most states observe Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.
That, of course, has changed in the years since, with Juneteenth now observed in most states. Memphis will celebrate today through Sunday at Douglass Park, 1616 Ash in North Memphis, with music, children’s games, and plenty of family-oriented fun, all free to the public. A Juneteenth flag will also be raised for the first time alongside the American flag at 8:30 a.m. Friday in the park.
Likely the oldest-surviving celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, Juneteenth began in Galveston, Texas, a year after Union troops arrived there to proclaim freedom for all slaves on June 19, 1865 (hence the Juneteenth portmanteau, which is derived from June Nineteenth) — 2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
The theme this year is a tribute to African-Americans in politics from Reconstruction to the present, which connects the first black U.S. senator, Mississippi congressman Hiram Rhodes Revels, to a more recent U.S. senator, President Barack Obama.
Another theme has become annual: Juneteenth is the time African-Americans increasingly set aside for family and class reunions. Reed says last year the Memphis festival had more than 20 family reunions.
“There are spots all over the park where people camp out overnight,” she says. “It’s their official family reunion.”
A variety of music can be heard this weekend as well, from blues, gospel and jazz to soul and hip-hop, all a reminder of the lasting impact African-American culture has had on popular music. Connecting black American music with its roots in the Afrodiaspora, the festival will kick off Friday morning with African drumming. Neo-soul and spoken-word acts will continue throughout the day.
On Saturday, the headliner will be the Re-Entry Band, a talented ensemble made of inmates from the Shelby County Penal Farm whose set lists venture from gospel to blues with a little Michael Jackson moonwalking thrown in for good measure.
Sunday begins with a sermon followed by a daylong gospel blowout to include “American Idol” competitor Keia Johnson, Darrel Petties & Strength in Praise, Shea Norman, and Kings of Harmony.
Another theme at the festival — hot weather — is kept in check by the park’s oak trees, says Reed, who adds, “everybody is under a shade tree — you’re gonna catch a breeze.”
17th Annual Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival
11 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday at Douglass Park, 1616 Ash. Free to the public. For more information, go to juneteenthmemphis.org.
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