MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Mid-South celebrated Juneteenth this weekend, including a weekend-long celebration in Orange Mound.
Sunday, TONE Juneteenth Family Reunion featured vendors and a music lineup with some big names, including Memphis legend Juicy J.
Security chief Anthony Elmore expected 2,000 people to attend Sunday’s event, and he was positive that things would go smoothly.
“You know how the city is. We know what type of time it is,” Elmore said. “Right now it’s summertime. It’s getting hotter and hotter so the best thing we can do is wand everybody down, use our metal detectors, physical hand pat down and that allows us to make sure every individual here is being checked properly.”
This year’s theme “Revival” aimed to reunite the community with their heritage. The event promised a packed schedule, including highly anticipated performances.
“We have Erykah Badu, aka DJ Lowdown Loretta Brown, we got Curren$y. We also have Juicy J,” said event organizer Qemist. “We have a plethora of local Memphis talent here today, and it should be an amazing treat. We’re gonna have things for the children. We’re also gonna have game rooms, of course, a beautiful vendor area, the big bazaar where you can buy local custom pieces of art and things of that nature.”
There was also a spades tournament and an afterparty.
“This is a festival that’s been going on for about three years now,” Qemist said. “A celebration of Black excellence, Black creativity, Black business, Black incubation quite literally every year. We try to do it even blacker and bigger and better.”
Suggest a Correction