The 10th annual Marshall-Harrison County Juneteenth festivities culminated on the runway Saturday with a Fashioned for Freedom Fashion Show, hosted on the campus of Wiley University.
“Thank you so much for coming to celebrate with us this evening. It has been an absolute pleasure to celebrate Juneteenth activities on the campus of Wiley University,” said Charles Cornish, representing Wiley.
“It’s also been a pleasure to work with the committee that’s been spearheaded by the Ravenells,” he added as he presented a gift on behalf of the university, thanking Juneteenth committee co-chairs Don and Alma Ravenell for their vision and orchestration.
“Congratulations on 10 years of your outstanding leadership. This has been absolutely remarkable. And it’s been a pleasure for us, Wiley University to partner with you,” said Cornish.
The event featured a host of models from various backgrounds and ages, who showcased everything from black-and-white trends to glamorous dressed to impress styles to their favorite freestyle garments and outfits.
A special Divine Nine set was added this year, featuring styles by members of the historically Black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities that make up the Divine Nine of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Cheryel Carpenter, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, served as commentator for the new segment.
Serving as commentator for the overall annual program was Juneteenth committee member, Leatrice Gray. Gray along with fellow committee member Deloris Butler also presented the Ravenells with a loving token of appreciation.
“This is our 10th year celebrating Juneteenth. We have our first decade down and many more decades in store to come,” said Butler. “This is a just small appreciation. When the Ravenells go, I mean they go hard; and they will stay up at midnight to the a.m. hours working diligently trying to make this a success.”
“The Juneteenth committee appreciates you so much,” added Gray. “This might be small, but it’s got a lot of love behind it.”
Alma Ravenell expressed her appreciation to all. Spearheading the program has been a great labor of love, especially for her husband, she shared.
“He has been not only supporting my original thought of doing something for Juneteenth, he has came up and became the main leader, shaker and mover in this event” she said. “A whole lot of this stuff would not have gotten done if it were not for his passion for this event. This is truly (a labor of love). We’re going to keep on pushing.”
Don Ravenell thanked the citizens of Marshall for their unwavering support of festivities throughout the decade.
“10 years of Juneteenth in Marshall, Texas. We’re so proud and we could not have done it without you, Marshall, Texas,” said Ravenell. “So thank you.”
