Join Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, James Weldon Johnson Park and the City of Jacksonville to celebrate the first annual Emancipation Celebration Day, honoring the day Florida ended slavery. The inaugural event will take place on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at James Weldon Johnson Park and will help educate the community on the significance of this historic day.
Jacksonville’s Emancipation Celebration Day will be hosted by Rahman Johnson and will feature performances by The Katz Downstairz, Mama Blue, K.UTIE and Nan Nkama Afro-Caribbean Dance and Drums. Poetry readings will be performed by Love Reigns and Mal Jones, followed by a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Honorable Rhonda Peoples-Waters.
The event will also feature local African American food trucks and vendors, fun activities for the kids, a Community Art Project by 6 Ft Away Gallery and historical displays. Local historical organizations will lend their expertise to weave educational stories throughout those performances and activities. The festival will begin at 11 a.m. and close out at 8 p.m. at James Weldon Johnson Park.
For more information about Jacksonville’s Emancipation Celebration, please visit
www.JamesWeldonJohnsonPark.org.