Juneteenth: Cobb NAACP fest to mark 19th year, other events planned in county
Jun. 17—Juneteenth celebrations, which officially became a national holiday in 2021 and commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, will be held nationwide this weekend.
The Cobb County NAACP will host its 19th annual Juneteenth celebration on Marietta Square Friday and Saturday.
This year's Juneteenth celebration will have more vendors, performances and volunteers than last year's, Cobb NAACP President Jeriene Bonner Grimes said. Grimes said that as COVID-19 fears have eased and Juneteenth celebrations have grown nationwide, more people will attend celebrations in their local communities.
"I just think the lineup and the ability to come out and celebrate freedom just has everybody really, really geared up," Grimes said. "I think it's a great time with all of the unrest in society, right now in the world, I think it gives people an opportunity to hold on to some hope that things will get better."
The celebration will feature live performances from the Atlanta Old School Drummers, Grammy-award winning gospel singer Le'Andria Johnson and more.
The event kicks off Friday with an "evening under the stars" concert from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Glover Park, featuring performances from bands "Just Three" and "Jazzy Blue."
Attendees can sit on the lawn or purchase VIP tables.
Saturday's cultural festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with more than 100 vendors in attendance, Grimes said. Vendors include community partners, politicians, political parties, arts and crafts, and food vendors selling barbeque, seafood, candy apples, Italian ice, roasted corn and more. There will also be a children's area, voter registration booths and health screenings.
For Grimes, Juneteenth is the celebration of freedom, resilience and the possibility of progress still to come.
"We, in our 19 years later, have made a concerted effort to make sure (Juneteenth is) about educating the public," Grimes said. "This is a piece of history."
Preparing for the celebration required community engagement and partnerships with those who believe in the mission of the NAACP, Grimes said, adding that she hopes it will provide a sense of unity.
"I'm really excited to see people from all corners of our county, even outside of our county, coming into the Marietta Square to celebrate, to have a joyful recognition that recognizes perseverance in the spirit of Black people in our nation, and really all people," Grimes said.
Deane Bonner, Grimes' mother and Cobb NAACP president emeritus, recalls growing up in West Virginia, never hearing of the holiday. Over the nearly two decades of celebrations in Cobb, the holiday has become more widely recognized, celebrated across the county.
"We have a significant number of other cities that will be hosting Juneteenth events, and we are glad because we know for years that nobody ever did it but us, in this particular part of the state," Bonner said. "So now that others are deciding it's going to be something they are going to celebrate too, it's really a win-win situation for all of us."
Since the Cobb NAACP's first celebration in 2002, attendance has grown from a couple hundred people to 3-4,000, Bonner said. What was once a predominately African-American event now draws a diverse crowd.
In addition to becoming a national holiday, Juneteenth in recent years has been recognized by the state of Georgia and the city of Marietta.
"The president of the United States made Juneteenth a national holiday, and that in itself is just major," Bonner said. "To have that type of recognition from the POTUS, not only celebrated in Marietta, Cobb County, but all over this country, is very significant. Then, to have Gov. Kemp sign off on Juneteenth being a holiday, was key.
"We are looking forward to a most exciting weekend. This is going to be a really big, very beautiful, exciting weekend," Bonner said.
