Hundreds of people celebrated the end of slavery in the U.S. at the Juneteenth Arts Festival in Fort Greene’s Cuyler-Gore Park on Saturday — an annual event that has grown to become a local staple in the nabe over the past 16 years.
The park is close to many stops in the Underground Railroad — a network of safehouses for slaves escaping to freedom — which makes the event especially poignant, said the organizer.
“It’s a tradition, people have grown to expect it,” said organizer Spring McLendon. “It takes place in an area that’s very rich in history when you talk about slavery and abolition in the U.S.”
The festival celebrates June 19, the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached the last of the enslaved Americans in Texas in 1865.
McLendon estimates around 500 people turned out to celebrate this year’s event, which included a vendor market, performances, speakers, a dance party, and an award ceremony honoring District Attorney Ken Thompson.
The day also paid tribute to Maurice White, the leader of legendary funk band Earth, Wind, and Fire, who died this year.
And kids had a chance to hone their chess skills with a local player, who said he can’t get enough of helping youngsters learn the brainy game.
“It’s something I enjoy doing so I volunteer my time to go out and help youth learn the game,” said Fort Greene resident Rigoberto Sabis. “I absolutely had a great time.”
