The 5th annual Capital City Juneteenth Celebration is Saturday, June 14, at Dix Park in Raleigh. WRAL is a media sponsor.
The event gets underway at 2 p.m. at Harvey Hill, which is adjacent to the newly opened Gipson Play Plaza.
WRAL’s Ken Smith and Lena Tillett will be emceeing the event, which also includes food trucks, vendors and children’s activities.
Schedule of events
| 1:55 pm | Drummer Opening – Jonathan Olu-Taylor |
| 2:00 pm | Welcome & Opening Remarks |
| 2:25 pm | MLK Children’s Choir |
| 2:40 pm | Rev. Dr. Tamara Thomas with Nice Touch Productions |
| 3:00 pm | The Occasion “Why We Celebrate” – Earl Ijames |
| 3:10 pm | NC Association of Black Storytellers |
| 3:30 pm | New Creation Gospel Singers |
| 4:00 pm | The Ned Hunter Family |
| 4:10 pm | The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club |
| 4:15 pm | Greater Raleigh Area National Pan-Hellenic Council |
| 4:30 pm | HBCU Presentation with dance |
| 5:10 pm | E.B. Palmer Award – Capital City Juneteenth Committee |
| 5:15 pm | Constance Prince Band |
| 6:15 pm | Closing Remarks |
Juneteenth commemorates the abolition of slavery in the United States. The first Juneteenth was June 19, 1865, when in the aftermath of the Civil War, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control and ensure the freedom of all enslaved men, women and children.
Considered the longest-running African American holiday, Juneteenth was finally recognized as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021 – a full 156 years after it was first celebrated. Most federal offices are closed, along with most banks, and mail won’t be delivered.
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