Kujichagulia Madison Center for Self Determination is inviting all communities to join the commemoration of the 30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration of the historic event – the emancipation of all slaves in America – on Saturday, June 15, at Penn Park.
This year’s theme will be “Juneteenth 2019 “Embracing Our Legacy of Resilience.” 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.
Juneteenth has been celebrated in Wisconsin since 1971 in Milwaukee and since 1990 in Madison. It was declared a Wisconsin State Holiday on December 1, 2009.
The collaborating partners for this year’s Juneteenth will be All of Us – Research Project, Urban League of Greater Madison, United Way of Dane County, Madison Black Greek Organizations, Goodman Community Center, African American Council of Churches, Madison Public Library, 100 Black Men of Madison, Women in Focus, Justified Anger, the City of Madison and Madison College. They will present a week of events to promote political responsibility, educational advancement, economic sufficiency, good health, social responsibility and collective well-being within the Madison black community.
The festivities will kick-off on Saturday, June 15, with the 18th Annual Juneteenth Parade beginning at 10:45 a.m. (staging at 10 am) at Fountain of Life Church. That will be followed by the outdoor celebration in Penn Park beginning at noon, featuring an array of artistic and cultural presentations, displays and activities. This will be followed by a week of events in collaboration with community partners climaxing on Saturday, June 22.
The Madison Juneteenth Day Celebration was established in 1990, to celebrate and carry on the legacy of Juneteenth and the rich heritage of African Americans.
The Juneteenth Implementation Team consists of representatives from many sectors of our community. If you would like to become involved in the planning, participate in the upcoming events, you can contact us by phone at 608-616-0279 or email at [email protected] or [email protected] . For additional information, please visit the webpage at www.kujichaguliamcsd.org.
