Juneteenth, the annual celebration of the official end of slavery, was rained out June 15. And now the rescheduled version will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday along Fourth Street in downtown Columbus.
The day was first celebrated in 1865, when Texas became the final Confederate state to free its slaves, three years after the Emancipation Proclamation, such was the slow pace of news and change in those days.
The event is free, and will feature food live music from performers such as Columbus singer-songwriter Zoe Tucker, information booths and more, according to organizers.
The Bartholomew County Area Chapter of the NAACP organizes the event.
Since the day began being marked locally in 2001, area NAACP members have said that they see Juneteenth partly as a way to celebrate diversity in general and black culture in particular. Some years in the past, a religious observance and a musical celebration were conducted on separate days of the same weekend as the larger overall event.
