GET GRANTS MLK Association of Asheville and Buncombe County announces 2024 Juneteenth Celebration June 17-21 AdminJune 11, 2024097 views The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, in partnership with the City of Asheville, has planned the 2024 Juneteenth Celebration with the intended outcomes of a diverse celebration that fosters broad participation, promotes community awareness and appreciation, and celebrates the liberation of enslaved people. Dating back to 1865, two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, it was on June 19 that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This started the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. The City of Asheville designated Juneteenth as a city holiday in 2021, and on June 11, 2024 Mayor Esther Manheimer will issue a proclamation acknowledging Juneteenth as a day of celebration for Black Americans. All events are free and open to the public. The Juneteenth Lunch & Learn Sessions will feature a catered lunch followed by local leaders speaking on topics such as the historical facts of Juneteenth, reflections of life in Black Asheville, and slave records & African-American cemeteries. Also, come celebrate with us at Juneteenth At DownTown After 5 and at the Juneteenth Gala. Lunch and Learn Series All Lunch & Learns will be 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday, June 17: Lunch and Learn at Linwood Crump Shiloh Center, 121 Shiloh Road Theme: Honoring The Legacy of Civil Rights Workers: James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner 60th Memorial. Tuesday, June 18: Lunch and Learn at Dr. Wesley Grant Center, 285 Livingston Street Theme: First African American Families of Asheville and Buncombe County Thursday, June 20: Lunch and Learn at Burton Street Recreation Center, 134 Burton Street Theme: Reflections on Gentrification of the African American Neighborhoods Friday, June 21: Lunch and Learn at Tempie-Avery Montford Center, 34 Pearson Drive Theme: Early African American Health Care & Today’s African American Inequities Additional Events Distinguished Speaker Presentation and Reception Wednesday, June 19. 12 p.m.: Black Wall Street, 8 River Arts Place Speaker: Mary D. Williams. Theme: From Slavery to Juneteenth Jubilee Juneteenth Gala Thursday, June 20, 7 p.m. : Stephens-Lee Center, 30 George Washington Carver Avenue A celebratory commemoration of Juneteenth, this ‘tie or no-tie’ gala will be free and open to the public. Guests will enjoy catered appetizers, alcoholic ($) and non-alcoholic beverages, a live band with dancing, and a silent auction presenting a variety of local treasures procured from many of the communities most talented entrepreneurs and artists of color. Junetenth At DownTown After 5 Friday June 21: Lexington Ave In cooperation with the Asheville Downtown Association, the 3rd iteration of Downtown After 5 will celebrate Junteenth music, food and entertainment. The stage will come alive assembling genres including rhythm, blues, soul, calypso and jazz. All events are FREE to the public due to the generous donations and/or sponsorships of the following organizations: The City of Asheville Mission Health Asheville Explore Asheville Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Dogwood Health Trust Burial Beer Company Highland Brewery DownTown After 5 Advent Health Givens Communities For more information about Juneteenth Celebrations, contact Oralene Simmons at ogsimmons@att.net. Source link