Roanoke – Celebrations for Juneteenth started early this weekend as hundreds of people headed to the Juneteenth Family Reunion at Eureka Park.
“Certain people can recognize what this celebration is all about, our freedom, it’s great, it’s great this is going on,” Event goer said.
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Saturday the Roanoke Cultural Collective hosted their 4th annual Juneteenth Family Reunion.
“Juneteenth celebration we oftentimes forget that people lose sight of that hope, need that inspiration, and look for times to come out in fellowship. So, we aren’t ignoring the things that are not positive but what we want to do is celebrate that which is positive,” Bernadette BJ Lark, Committee leader for Roanoke Cultural Collective said.
Juneteenth celebrated on June 19th marks the day when slavery ended in 1865
People I spoke with say it’s important to share the history of Juneteenth with the younger generation.
“And if you’re not able to look back and see where you’ve come from then it’s likely that it may start again and repeat the same history, so I think it’s important for our children to know where we’ve come from and why we are here and the struggles we’ve gone through, that’s why its relevant,” Event goer said.
Organizers say more than a thousand people made their way through the park checking out the dozens of vendors and live performances.
“I only knew about other holidays and as I got older, I realized the importance of it, so just to know that now everyone knows about it and wants to be a part of it melts my heart. Because it’s an important day for everybody to celebrate and it shouldn’t go unnoticed,” Zariah Terry, a vendor said.
