City of Columbia continues with Juneteenth festivities

COLUMBIA, Miss. (WDAM) – The Juneteenth festivities are still going on, especially in Columbia.

The city of Columbia celebrates Juneteenth with an annual parade and fun-filled program.

“It’s a cultural thing, but everyone is welcome and everyone is involved,” said Tracy Lee, an event organizer.

Participants say it’s great to celebrate a historic day with loved ones.

“It’s extremely important to be able to celebrate Juneteenth with family and with friends to celebrate our freedom after so many years of being enslaved,” said Natasha Alexander, a participant.

Juneteenth means different things to different people.

“It represents freedom, love, passion, music. Just inspirational from everything that we have been through in our time,” said Alexandria Bolton, a participant.

“It means freedom, it means family, it means fun and faith, of course,” Alexander said.

One event organizer agrees with Bolton and Alexander.

“Juneteenth also means freedom to me. We break every chain,” said Rodney Gunn, an event organizer.

One thing all the participants can agree on is how great it is to have the community come together.

“A special place in my heart because we all get to come together as one. We all get to celebrate. We all get to see each other and have a joyous time,” Lee said.

“It is wonderful. It’s a real joy to be out here with our community and to see civilized people out here and to enjoy everything,” Bolton said.

The fun didn’t stop there.

After the parade and program, members of the Marion County Dream Team, the Columbia Fire and Police Department, and the Marion and Walthall County Correctional Facility participated in a basketball tournament.

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