The Scene Talks Juneteenth With Big Fella

When Congress declared Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, it became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially recognized back in 1986. The holiday celebrates the official end of the Civil War, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued an order that “all slaves are free” on June 19, 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 

In Nashville, Juneteenth has the perfect celebration spot: Fort Negley, which was constructed by the Union as part of a fortification system. Most of the laborers who built Fort Negley were Black — a fact that’s not lost on contemporary Nashvillians.

“At the first Juneteenth615 celebration, someone told me it was the most Black feet that have been on this site since the people who built it were here,” says Big Fella. 

Big Fella, the artist and entertainer born Willie Sims Jr., is a local legend. In a city filled with charismatic figures, he still manages to carve out space, whether through his self-produced cooking show Cookin’ Wit’ Big Fella or his work as an ordained minister. He has championed the local Juneteenth celebration since its inception, forging its path and bringing community members together to create something deeply meaningful.

“It’s a little like stone soup,” he explains. “People just bring what they have, and we’re the connectivity.”

Among this year’s key ingredients in the Juneteenth stew are Nashville nonprofits like the Equity Alliance, the Music City Freedom Fest and the National Museum of African American Music. All of them will be bringing their own gifts to the table.

Big Fella is particularly enthusiastic about the event’s planned historical reenactments, which will focus on the lives of the Civil War’s United States Colored Troops, and which Big Fella says inspire the sentiment that contemporary Nashvillians are living lives beyond their ancestors’ wildest dreams. Being on the same site as the runaway slaves and freed Black people who constructed Fort Negley is a profound experience, and the Juneteenth reenactments are much more dynamic and interactive than you might be accustomed to. For starters, the troupe of actors is directed by Destiny Theatre Experience founder Shawn Whitsell, and the reenactments are based on in-depth historical research by social historian Angela C. Sutton.

“Nashville has a lot of still-standing Juneteenth stories,” Big Fella explains. “The city has one of the richest histories that is still relevant today. It’s under the radar, and we’re connecting the dots for people who never think of history in that way. We’re trying to give you some context.”

After signing up for the tour at Fort Negley’s visitor center, visitors will convene at the bottom of Fort Negley, where they’ll be greeted by a guide who will take them to various other figures until they travel to the top of the hill. 

Another aspect of Nashville’s celebration is Juneteenth Restaurant Week, which spotlights the city’s many Black-owned restaurants, including Papa Turney’s BBQ in Hermitage. Restaurants throughout the city will be offering special deals — Germantown Pub will have a $6.19 frozen Uncle Nearest and Coke, and Slim & Husky’s Pizza Beeria will offer 20 percent off regularly priced items with the code “Juneteenth.” Find a list of participating restaurants by downloading the Juneteenth615 Guide app, which is slated to be available starting June 12.

“Nashville is a big event town,” Big Fella says. “If we want to, we can rival any city in the world. But that shouldn’t just mean big country events or big white events.”

Big Fella acknowledges that this is the first Juneteenth celebration to take place in Trump’s second presidency, when initiatives like the elimination of DEI policies make it seem like the writing’s on the wall for events that celebrate Black history — even if that history makes up the backbone of America.

“Juneteenth isn’t just Black history — it’s American history,” Big Fella says. “I spent a couple weeks with Harry Belafonte, and what he used to say is, ‘To go forward, sometimes we have to go back.’ I think that, as a country, we have to acknowledge and deal with the past before we can move forward. That’s the only way out of this. We get the leadership and the government we deserve. If you want to get better, you’ve got to do better.”

“I mean, if you’ve got a problem celebrating the end of slavery,” he notes, “that’s pretty weird.”