Hopkinsville’s fourth Juneteenth celebration will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at the Hopkinsville-Christian County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1730 E. Ninth St.
The host organizations — the Hopkinsville Juneteenth Committee and the visitors center — announced that the theme will be “Jazzing for Juneteenth” to focus on the influence of music and the spoken word in African-American history.
Community members are invited to bring chairs, blankets and tents to the visitor center grounds.
Jazz musician Tina Brown will perform at 6:30 p.m. In addition, a DJ will play music.
Food booths, vendors and bouncers for children will be available. Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library staff members will provide crafts for children.
Committee member Bonnie Lynch said at least five food trucks are slated for the event. They include G’s BBQ, Big Papa and D.J.’s Famous Lemonade.
Congress adopted legislation in 2021 establishing June 19 at a federal holiday. Known as Juneteenth, this marks the day in 1865 when Gen. Gordon Granger and thousands of federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the Civil War had ended and to ensure all slaves be freed. Although President Abraham Lincoln declared all slaves shall be freed more than two years earlier, his Emancipation Proclamation was ignored by Confederate states and not enforced in the South until the end of the war.
