Annapolis plans Juneteenth festival and parade as Maryland inches toward making it a holiday
Annapolis has announced that is planning to hold what they believe will be Maryland’s first Juneteenth festival, a two-day celebration of the Emancipation of Black Americans planned for June 18 and 19.
Mayor Gavin Buckley with Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson and the Annapolis Juneteenth Celebration organization executive director Phyllis “Tee” Adams announced the tentative details of the Juneteenth Parade and Festival at a City Dock news conference.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, marking the day in 1865 that enslaved people in Texas learned they had been legally freed by the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. It is also known as the second Independence Day and Emancipation Day.
Annapolis once was a prime port for the slave trade in America. Maryland ended slavery in October 1864 with the approval of the state’s third constitution.
The Maryland House this since passed a House Bill 0448, sponsored by Del. Andrea Fletcher Harrison, D-Prince George’s, that would make Juneteenth a state holiday. The Senate Health, Education and Environmental Matters Committee held a hearing on the bill last week.
The Juneteenth celebration was unanimously approved by The City of Annapolis in Resolution 51-20, which was proposed by Buckley and Finlayson.
On June 19, 2020, some 500 people gathered downtown to honor the date during a season of protests and rallies over police violence against Black People. The date was also marked by history presentations around the area.
The 2021 parade, tentatively scheduled pending COVID-19 health restrictions, will commence at the Annapolis City Dock at noon, home to the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial. Haley’s 1976 novel, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” tells his family story about the arrival of an ancestor in Annapolis as an enslaved man. The story is celebrated with the Kunte Kinte Heritage Festival, currently scheduled for September.
The celebration will move towards the Bates Athletic Complex, where the festival will continue from 2 p.m., until dusk, according to a statement released by the organizers on Sunday, March 28.
Live musical performances include The Chuck Brown Band, Young Dylan from Tyler Perry’s hit Nickelodeon comedy, and other musicians. There will be an array of local vendors, food, art from the community.
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| Young Dylan - Dylan Gilmer. Credit: Dolly Faibyshev/Nickelodeon. |
Annapolis is already planning for a resumption of the July Fourth parade as a sign of returning to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic has ebbed.
For more information about the Annapolis Juneteenth 2021 festival, including volunteering opportunities, visit https://www.annapolisjuneteenth.org.
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