Nonprofit organization hosts Juneteenth celebration at Nebraska State Capitol

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Lincoln hosts many events and activities for Juneteenth, yet one organization and young founder brought the celebration to the Capital City a day early, hosting the first ever Juneteenth Freedom Day Celebration.

BlackisBeautifulNE is a non-profit organization founded to uplift black presentation through visual statements and community connections. On Sunday, they hosted their first ever Juneteenth event alongside the Lincoln Arts Festival.

At the celebration, local black artists, black business owners and vendors were set up for anyone to come check out.

BlackisBeautifulNE founder Zianab Funnah said it’s important to find ways to represent the black community and uplift one another. Funnah said she created Sunday’s event to bring the community together for Juneteenth, something she said she didn’t have growing up.

”I feel like we are just not given a space enough and sometimes we need those areas where we can be given those spaces to be able to show ourselves and you know shine a light on those people that are like kind of in the shadows and may not have been given a chance or same opportunities as someone else. And it just brings our community closer.”

Funnah said BlackisBeautifulNE is hopeful to gain community support and engagement to increase knowledge about the holiday and create opportunities in Nebraska where diverse perspectives are celebrated and valued.

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