Juneteenth events lined up for the weekend

Alan Mauldin, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·3 min read

Jun. 16—ALBANY — The holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States will be celebrated in a big way on Saturday, with two street festivals downtown, a gospel concert, dramatic performance and several other events.

Dougherty County's first-ever Juneteenth celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. at the Government Center Plaza at 222 Pine Ave.

"It's food, community, family and friends," Wendy Howell, Dougherty County's public information officer, said. "It's kind of what the national celebration is about, and that's what we wanted to do. It'll be a good day for the family."

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when U.S. troops entered Galveston, Texas, but is more broadly recognized as the effective end of slavery. On that day, a Union general read a proclamation declaring that slaves in Texas and throughout the country were free by order of the president.

Among the activities that will be offered by the county are food trucks with a variety of offerings, games for children and live music.

At noon there will be a welcome from the Dougherty County Commission followed by renditions of the National Anthem and "Lift Every Voice and Sing," known as "the black national anthem."

Rutha Harris and the Freedom Singers will follow and perform three songs, accompanied by dancers, and should take the stage at about 12:15 p.m., Howell said.

The Dougherty County Sheriff's Office will be on hand to provide security and, with a nod to the extreme heat on tap, Emergency Medical Services will there.

"The lobby area of the Government Center will be open for people to cool off and get a drink," Howell said.

At noon, the Albany Juneteenth Committee's street festival will start at Riverfront Park just down the street. It too will feature food, drinks and games for kids. There is no set program, but there will be the opportunity for fun and celebration, Frank Wilson, one of the event organizers, said.

"It will kind of be a free flow of events, depending on the weather," he said. "That's going to affect whether some of these things are going to take place."

The county's festival ends at 3 p.m., so visitors will have the chance to take in both, as the festival at Riverfront Park is set to end at dusk, or about 7:30 p.m.

"We hope the community comes out," Wilson said. "We've obviously decided we're going to have a lot of ice and a lot of water."

The committee also has scheduled a gospel concert for 7 p.m. Friday at Union Missionary Baptist Church. On Sunday the group will present the play "The Conversation," an imagined conversation between former President Barack Obama and Malcolm X at 4 p.m. at the Fine Arts Building at Albany State University's East Campus.

On Saturday, The Albany Museum of Art is hosting a Freedom's Eve program starting at 2 p.m. Retired Albany educator Angie Gibbs Jones will read from her book "The Underground Railroad Under My Feet."