GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – On Sunday, Juneteenth celebrations wrapped up in Gulfport as attendees enjoyed a city-wide festival full of food, songs, poetry, and dancing.
“In previous years, we did three days, and this year we’ve taken it up a notch and made it five days, so I had my week cut out for me,” said Bobby Hudson III.
Hudson and his team coordinated and put on the week-long celebration. They want to help give people a better idea of what Juneteenth represents.
“Juneteenth is about education, getting back to your roots to learn about culture, and understanding other cultures while serving the community,” said Hudson. “There’re so many layers of Juneteenth so this year I really want to showcase that it’s just not a festival, there’s so many other things to do.”
Along with giving entrepreneurs the freedom to showcase their work, the group used the celebration to help give people a chance to register to vote — an issue he said is one of the highlighting parts of Juneteenth.
“Our ancestors fought and died for us to have the right to vote, so voting is a very important thing primarily in the black community, but throughout all communities voting is essential,” said Hudson. “We’re emphasizing that today because we see that a lot of minority communities are not going out to vote so we’re doing all we can to get them the resources and education they need to get to those polls.”
Hudson said he and his team will do everything they can to provide more Juneteenth celebrations in the future.
“It’s so important not only for me but also important for the entire community to understand the significance of this holiday. It’s not just a day that we sell our freedom for African Americans, but everybody,” said Hudson. “Juneteenth signifies a day everybody was free. Everybody had equal opportunities so as we continue to fight, Juneteenth is a great way to remember, and reflect on the sacrifices of our ancestors.”
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