Celebrate 21st Annual Northwest Arkansas Juneteenth This Weekend

The University of Arkansas' African American Resource Group and the Juneteenth Celebration Committee invite the Northwest Arkansas community to celebrate the 21st Northwest Arkansas Juneteenth celebration.  This year's Juneteenth celebration will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at The Gardens on the University of Arkansas campus, located on Razorback Road in Fayetteville. This event is free and open to the public.

Juneteenth will be hosted by Jaclyn House from Good Day NWA with activities including live musical entertainment by the Arkansas Gospel Chorale, Afrique Aya Drum Company, Headliner Faye Moffett and DJ Ty Walker.

There will also be a cookout, ice cream, family games and activities such as large inflatables, football toss, basketball shoot-out and other athletic activities hosted by the University of Arkansas Police Department. Local vendors will be on-site to display their products and services so the community can learn more about what you have to offer. Also, the Arkansas Urban League Young Professionals and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, Lambda Phi Sigma Alumnae Chapter are sponsoring a health fair where medical and dental providers will conduct screenings to promote healthy living and address general medical questions.

Juneteenth, or the "19th of June", is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  It recognizes June 19, 1865, in Galveston, TX, when Union General Gordon Granger announced freedom for all slaves in the Southwest This was the last major vestige of slavery in the United States following the end of the Civil War. This occurred more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln. Upon the reading of General Order #3 by General Granger, the former slaves celebrated jubilantly, establishing America's second Independence Day Celebration and the oldest African-American holiday observance. In 2006, the Arkansas Legislature first recognized Juneteenth as a state memorial day commemorated by the issuance of a proclamation from Governor Huckabee.

This event commemorates the anniversary of African American emancipation. Juneteenth today celebrates African American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures.

The Northwest Arkansas Juneteenth Celebration is sponsored by: 

Community Sponsors: Wal-Mart/Sams Club, Tyson Foods, PepsiCo, Frito Lay, P&G, The Historic St. James Missionary Baptist Church, Penguin Ed’s, First National Bank – NWA, Hill City Lodge #347, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Kappa Kappa and Omicron Zeta Lambda Chapters; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Kappa Iota and Phi Alpha Omega Chapters; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated; NWA Area Alumnae Chapter – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated Lambda Phi Sigma Chapter; Arkansas Urban League Young Professionals.

University of Arkansas Sponsors include: Division of Student Affairs, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Sam. M. Walton College of Business - Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, Police Department, University Athletics, Honors College, Black Alumni Society and Arkansas Alumni Association.

For more information about the Northwest Arkansas Juneteenth Celebration, please visit the Juneteenth website.