The Bryan County NAACP Branch #5648, will host Juneteenth - A Celebration of Culture Freedom Day on Saturday, June 18, from noon to 5 p.m. at J.F Gregory Park in Richmond Hill. This is the second annual commemoration event of African American emancipation held in Bryan County and open to all.

“Juneteenth urges and reminds all Americans to know and tell the true history of Black emancipation in America. Although celebratory in nature, it is a time to reflect on freedom, Black culture, the impact of systemic racism, and liberation. We must never forget, Juneteenth in the story of America,” Adrienne Jackson, event founder and Bryan County NAACP, Young Adult Committee Chair.

The celebration at J.F. Gregory Park, which is free to the public, will feature a special live performance by the award-winning McIntosh County Shouters at 3:00 pm. The McIntosh County Shouters are keeping the practice “ring shouts” of Coastal Georgia alive through their continued practice of an age-old tradition their ancestors brought over from Africa. The celebration will also have an array of vendors, food trucks, and music. Members of the Bryan County NAACP will be on hand at the event to enroll new members, provide information, and answer questions.

On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act — passed with overwhelming bipartisan support by Congress — making Juneteenth a federal holiday. On this day, 157 years ago, Major General Gordon Granger marched into Galveston, Texas, and informed more than 200,000 enslaved Black Americans that they were finally free — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Since then, June 19 has been recognized as Juneteenth as a celebration of the de facto end of the brutal institution of slavery in the United States. This year marks the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth.