Madison’s annual Juneteenth will be celebrated for a whole week this year and will culminate with a parade and party at Penn Park.
The Juneteenth Day Celebration 2018 will take place Saturday, June 16, noon-6 p.m., at Penn Park. Juneteenth in Madison is now in its 29th year.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, a day when African-American slaves in Texas were told by Union forces that they were free. They were the final group of slaves to realize their freedom. Deep in the Confederacy, they were unaware of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation almost two years earlier. A celebration of the day has been held annually in Texas ever since, which eventually spread to other states.
The event is once again being organized by Kujichagulia Madison Center for Self Determination, a non-profit that promotes African-American cultural and educational events here in Madison founded by Mona Winston and Annie Weatherby-Flowers.
The Juneteenth Week events that are scheduled so far:
• Sunday, June 10, 3 p.m.: Black Resilience and Faith, hosted by the African American Council of Churches at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 2010 Fisher Street
• Monday, June 11, 5 p.m.: History of Black Resilience, hosted by Justified Anger at Fountain of Life Church, 633 W. Badger Rd.
• Tuesday, June 12, 5 p.m.: Challenges to Black Resilience in Dane County, hosted by the United Way of Dane County at SFC Labor Temple Temple, 1602 S. Park St.
• Wednesday, June 13, 5 p.m.: State of Black Resilience, hosted by the Urban League of Greater Madison at 2222 S. Park St.
• Thursday, June 14, 5 p.m.: Black Resilience in Higher Education, hosted by Madison Black Greek organizations at the Villager Atrium, 2300 S. Park St.
• Friday, June 15, 5 p.m.: Poetry Jam -Voices of Black Resilience, hosted by Madison College at the Villager Atrium, 2300 S. Park St.
• Saturday, June 16, 11 a.m.: Parade, starting at Fountain of Life Church, 655 W. Badger Rd., and celebration at Penn Park, 2101 Fisher St.
This article originally appeared on Madison365.
