The Jacksonville NAACP is returning to where it all started for Juneteenth Celebrations in the city next week.
The celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States will be observed on Wednesday. The Jacksonville NAACP revived the city’s celebration after a few years of lying dormant in 2022 on the Downtown Square.
Alberta Robinson, vice president of the NAACP and chair of the Juneteenth celebration says that it will be a return to Community Park this year, the place where celebrations of the holiday began many years ago: “It started back in the 80’s that we had the celebration, and then, it kind of dropped off for awhile. Back in 2022, we restarted it again and it’s been going strong. This is our 3rd annual Juneteenth Celebration, and we are so happy to continue with it. DJ Eddie Baldwin is going to deejay for us. We’ve got a lot of children’s games and activities. First of all, our theme this year is ‘Rebuilding Our Heritage,’ so we are focusing a lot on children’s activities, getting them more involved in Juneteenth and learning about Juneteenth. We will have the Jacksonville Drum Line. They always give a great presentation to open up the ceremonies. Our program will start with the ‘Welcome’ of course, and then, we will give away 4 college scholarships this year. We are also bringing back something from our previous Juneteenth celebrations, the program called Pillars. This is honoring people that we recognize in the Jacksonville community for their community service.”
Shirlee Pettit, Ruth Linear, Edward Wright, Becky Franklin, Peggy Howlett, and Annabelle Blue will be recognized for the Pillar Award for Community Service.
The Juneteenth Celebration in Community Park will run from 10:30AM to 2:30PM on Wednesday. For more information, find the Jacksonville IL NAACP on Facebook.