OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — With the latest vote to make June 19 a nationwide vacation, the as soon as casual Juneteenth celebration takes on a brand new prominance.
There might be a temptation in some quarters to homogenize the vacation or skew it to develop into one more tribute to the nation; as a substitute, it must be a remembrance of those that had been misplaced to the evils of slavery and a commemoration of the second when the follow was lastly purged from American life.
The resilience of Black life all through the centuries of ache and cruelty are motive for celebrations across the day that marks the top to slavery within the U.S.
To have fun the resilience of Black life, two days of celebration and occasions on the Eastside will mark this yr’s Juneteenth.
Music and movie
by George Lang
Sponsored by True Sky Credit score Union
First official Juneteenth in OKC!
This yr, Oklahoma Metropolis celebrates Juneteenth with Juneteenth on the East, a two-day, family-friendly occasion that includes dance performances, stay music, meals vans, training tents, murals and extra on NE twenty third Avenue between Kelham Avenue and Hood Avenue.
Rapper Sa-Roc headlines the occasion, bringing socially aware rhymes from her new album on Rhymesayers, The Sharecropper’s Daughter, to the competition stage.
Born Assata Perkins in Washington, D.C., Sa-Roc named herself in tribute to MC Sha-Rock, one of many earliest feminine rappers whose irrepressible circulation could be heard on the Funky 4+1 basic, “That’s the Joint.” Having collaborated with David Banner and Black Thought on earlier tasks, Sa-Roc launched The Sharecropper’s Daughter, her first album for Rhymesayers, in October 2023. The Economist named the album one of many 15 finest albums of 2023.
Organized by rapper, businessman and activist Jabee, the competition might be a celebration of freedom for Black individuals and their allies in working towards true freedom.
“Black individuals in the US obtained a primary style of liberation on June 19, 1865, after over 400 years of enslavement, exploitation and denial of humanity,” Jabee mentioned in a ready assertion.
“June nineteenth now marks an annual celebration of Juneteenth. Immediately, we have fun the Black neighborhood’s management in cultural revolutions and a strong dedication to have fun, collect, create, dance, sing, and stay in plentiful pleasure.”
“This pleasure is just not reliant on bodily or systemic circumstances; as a substitute, the power to resist oppression with laughter and levity is locked deep inside Black tradition and genetic reminiscence.”
Along with the occasions on NE twenty third Avenue, the Juneteenth celebration will embody a screening of the Disney/Pixar movie Soul at 8 p.m. Saturday on the nice garden at Scissortail Park. The occasion is free and open to the general public.
Particulars
Saturday, June 19, 2023
3 pm – 9 pm Performances
NE twenty third St. between N. Kelham Ave. and N. Hood St.
Sunday, June 20, 2023
6 pm Cookout
9 pm Movie Screening – Black Panther
Scissortail Park, 300 SW seventh Avenue
And … this!
Pageant of the Arts, Oklahoma Metropolis’s huge celebration of visible, performing and culinary arts, kicks off Tuesday at Bicentennial Park, adjoining to the Civic Middle Music Corridor.
This free, six-day occasion sponsored by the Arts Council of Oklahoma Metropolis options visible artwork from native, regional, and nationwide artists in addition to foods and drinks and stay performances by artists comparable to Brief Dogg, Kat Lock, BedTime, Kyle Dillingham and Horseshoe Street, Ckai Dawson and Elevation, Carter Sampson, Levi Parham, and The Smart Guys. Go to artscouncilokc.com.
And … this, too!
Heard On Hurd, the annual music and household enjoyable celebration in Edmond kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday with performances from Bedtime, Jacobi Ryan, and The Imaginaries. Go to mycitizens.financial institution/heard-on-hurd.
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Final Up to date June 18, 2023, 3:02 PM by Brett Dickerson – Editor
The publish Juneteenth two-day celebration in Oklahoma Metropolis options music, movie appeared first on Oklahoma Metropolis Free Press.
