Louisville’s Juneteenth Celebration

Louisville, Miss. (WCBI) –Families, Friends and leaders gathered Saturday at Dean Park to celebrate Juneteenth Day.

Juneteenth, which represents June 19th, is the official day in 1965 when slavery ended in the United States.

Although it’s not the actual Juneteenth, the city of Louisville celebrates it their own way. The town has changed it from its traditional date to the first Saturday on the month.

“We just try to celebrate this day to not let you forget about the history and the struggle’, says President of Louisville’s NAACP Charles Hampton, “…and to make people realize that we still have the same struggle going on today.”

Although this day celebrates a very important piece of African-American history, it also celebrates the coming together of the community.

“We’ve got people of all races, creeds, colors, ethnicities out here today”, said local NAACP member Annie Hudson, “…and it’s just a great day for everyone in the county to get together.”

One of the key things about this day for Hudson and the rest of the community is about educating children as to why the Juneteenth celebration exists.

“This is not just a day as you said you see most people coming out to get barbeque and eat and have a good time”, says Hudson, “…but this is actually a day where we celebrate our history…our history as a people in this country, and not let that celebration die.”

On this Juneteenth, the Voters League honored the memory of the Louisville celebration’s founder, Claudell Weaver. Weaver started the Juneteenth Day Celebration in 1984.

Weaver passed away last year at the age of 75.