The Tampa Bay Juneteenth Coalition will visit Tampa City Hall on June 18 to raise the Juneteenth flag with Mayor Jane Castor and other officials.
“There is so much going on, it is hard to remember it all,” said Pastor P. Tucker-Johnson, president of the coalition, which encourages cultural awareness of Black history through education.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordan Granger and other Union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas with the news that the Civil War was over and enslaved people were free. The celebration is a way to empower the Black community through unification and education. It is also a path toward designating Juneteenth as a national holiday, Tucker-Johnson said.
In addition to the flag-raising, the coalition will host the Miss and Jr. Miss Juneteenth pageants at the Center for Manifestation at 6 p.m. June 18.
There will be a musical stage play at Middleton High School June 26 at 6 p.m. and a Gospel Explosion, as well. A new date for the Gospel Explosion will been announced.
To learn more, visit the Coalition website.
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