The annual Juneteenth celebration in Itta Bena on Saturday will focus on solutions to take back African-American communities from violence.
And like Juneteenth celebrations across the country, the event will commemorate June 19, 1865, the day slaves in Texas first heard of the Emancipation Proclamation and the government’s abolishment of slavery.
The celebration that followed that historic event is often called Juneteenth Freedom Day.
Organizer Charlotte Carpenter has lined up a ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. in Itta Bena’s downtown City Park.
The ceremony will start with prayers from community clergy and a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, followed by gospel music from Grenada’s Hearts of Joy and Magnolia’s Soul Consolators.
At 1 p.m., state Sen. David Jordan of Greenwood and state Sen. Willie Simmons of Cleveland will take the podium before a keynote address from Eddie Justice Jones, president of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association.
Jones has collaborated with community leaders in L.A. to make neighborhoods safer for youth by working to put a street light at Dorsey High School where 9-year-old Demaria Grant was shot and killed by a hit-and-run driver, by feeding the homeless and taking kids from the community to Los Angeles Clippers games for several years.
He has appeared on television talk shows and radio programs, including in Greenwood this week, and is a tireless advocate around civil and human rights cases in the California courts.
Jones will talk about how violence is affecting communities and families nationwide and how citizens can help come up with solutions.
An outstanding citizens award will be presented to Willie E. Baxter McGee, who was involved in activities of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the Itta Bena area in the 1960s.
Altorean Spruell of Greenwood, who is organizing a community event in Greenwood for June 30, will speak about the generational gap among men in today’s society and will challenge anyone at the celebration to a game of chess.
A veterans tribute by American Legion Post 200 of Greenwood will honor area veterans with a flag ceremony under the assistance of the U.S. Army Reserve.
Concessions and activities for children will be on hand throughout the day. The celebration will conclude at 2 p.m.
Everyone in Itta Bena, Greenwood and surrounding communities is invited and urged to attend.
• Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
