Community invited to events for Juneteenth Festival Week

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The Juneteenth Committee of Wilmington has announced several events for Juneteenth Festival Week this June.

Juneteenth was created in honor of June 19, 1865, when about 2,000 Union troops arrived in Texas and announced that the over 250,000 Black people being enslaved in the state were free, per the National Museum of African American History Culture. Although the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863, it couldn’t be implemented in places like Texas, which were still under Confederate control.

June 19 was known as Juneteenth by the people freed in Texas, who began holding celebrations in remembrance of the date. It was made an official holiday in Texas in 1979 according to PBS, and it was established as a public holiday federally in 2021.

On Sunday, June 18, the Cameron Art Museum will host a free community day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

From noon to 2 p.m., storytelling and art making for children ages five and up will be held in the CAM courtyard.

Then at 2 p.m., the Juneteenth Committee of Wilmington Inc. and Speak Ya Peace NC will present Juneteenth at CAM. The event will feature a performance from SolTree Reign and readings from guest poets Jadon Kenion, Madelyn Athena Purdie, Ellie Lorenze and Zenith Ayodele Jarrett.

“Join a panel discussion moderated by Derrick Anderson with local activists, professors and guest speakers including: Makeda Baker, RN MA, Poet; Dr. Breea C. Willingham Associate Professor of Criminology at UNCW; Lettie Gore, historian and racial justice educator, and JaQuan Bagley, Veteran,” a CAM announcement states.

Other upcoming events include:

• Sorority and Fraternity Step Show
  • Friday, June 17, from 7 to 9 p.m.
  • MLK Community Center, 401 S. 8th St., Wilmington
  • Free admission
• Juneteenth Festival
  • Saturday, June 17, from noon to 6 p.m.
  • MLK Community Center, 401 S. 8th St., Wilmington
  • Free admission
• Juneteenth Speak Ya Peace
  • Sunday, June 18, from 2 to 5 p.m.
  • Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S. 17th St., Wilmington
  • Free admission
• Juneteenth Breakfast
  • Monday, June 19, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
  • MLK Community Center, 401 S. 8th St., Wilmington
  • $30/adult, $15/child under 12
  • Tickets available online
• Family Movie Night and discussion of “Passing the Baton” Ruby Bridges Story
  • Monday, June 19, from 5 to 7 p.m.
  • MLK Community Center, 401 S. 8th St., Wilmington
  • Free admission
• Juneteenth Pageant
  • Sunday, June 25, starting at 2 p.m.
  • MLK Community Center, 401 S. 8th St., Wilmington
  • Free admission

You can learn more about the events on the Juneteenth Committee Facebook page.