McAlester’s Juneteenth Celebration is ready to kick-off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 18, on the metropolis’s refurbished and improved Michael J. Hunter Park.
Actions embody the dedication of a mural to Hunter, the park’s namesake, and the primary McAlester native to die in fight in the course of the Vietnam Warfare.
McAlester Mayor John Browne opens from the principle stage at 10 a.m. with the studying of a metropolis proclamation declaring June 18 as Juneteenth Celebration Day within the metropolis, adopted by opening speaker Loise Washington.
Instantly following the opening ceremony, plans name for dedication of an in-progress mural honoring Hunter, by native artist Ernest Russell. Plans embody a 21-gun salute and a short handle by McAlester Military Ammunition Plant Commander Col. Michael Hammond, stated Pittsburg County NAACP Secretary Helen Turner.
Different occasions embody a cake and pie public sale at 10:45 a.m., with youngsters and grownup actions commencing at 11 a.m. The NAACP will present scorching canines and sodas for youngsters, with a number of meals venders anticipated on the website.
Households are welcome to convey their very own picnic gadgets to the family-oriented occasion, Turner stated. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. is allotted for an open mic session, to permit for candidates for varied state and native workplaces, in addition to for varied neighborhood leaders to talk, she stated.
The McAlester Public Library will provide actions for youngsters and the McAlester Excessive Faculty Arts Division plans artwork shows.
Music is to be offered by Dee Jay Mark Johnson, with performances by the MLK Junior Choir and the McAlester Excessive Faculty Peppers. Members of the Pittsburg County NACCP Youth Council are presenting a dramatic mess around 6 p.m.
“I am trying ahead to the celebration of Juneteenth so our ancestors will know we have not forgotten the wrestle to get us the place we’re,” stated Pittsburg County NAACP Treasurer Ann Walker.
This weekend marks the 157th yr because the arrival of U.S. Military Main Common Gordon Granger’s arrival in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1965. Granger proclaimed that every one slaves have been freed within the wake of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the give up of Accomplice forces at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.
The information set off celebrations by former slaves celebrating their new freedom, which is marked this yr by being declared a nationwide vacation for the primary time.
Juneteenth has been celebrated for years at McAlester’s Hunter Park, with the occasion hosted by the Pittsburg County Department of the NAACP.
Mayor Browne is prepared for the occasion.
“I am trying ahead to everyone getting collectively and having a good time,” Browne stated. He famous that metropolis workers labored exhausting to get Hunter Park prepared for the Juneteenth celebration, together with the opening of a brand new splash pad, pickle ball courts, a resurfaced strolling observe, further picnic tables, a lined pavilion and different enhancements.
“We admire town doing this,” stated Barbara Smitherman, president of the Pittsburg County Department of the NAACP.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.