TERRI CARTER

Contributor

The Franklin County community came together Saturday for its annual celebration of the Juneteenth holiday, gathering at Old Cowan Road Park with participants enjoying fellowship, a DJ, food trucks, speakers and multiple booths and vendors.

The event is organized by the Franklin County NAACP as an official celebration of the holiday in the local community. 

Area and state political candidates took the opportunity to come recognize the significance of the day and network with the residents and voters.

The Franklin County Democratic Party had a tent set up and some of the candidates in attendance included congressional candidates Cliff Huffman, Dr. Joyce Neal and Victoria Broderick and gubernatorial candidate Dr. Carnita Atwater.

Independent County Commission candidate Stanley Bean was also in attendance.

Neal expressed excitement to be able to attend the event and stated what the holiday meant to her.

“It’s a history that is not known by a lot of black folks” Neal said. “I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. I had no idea Juneteenth even existed until a few years ago when they made it a holiday, so, it lets us know that we have some real history that they can’t erase.

“For me, Juneteenth is just a reminder of where we’ve come from, and we need to keep moving forward.”

Franklin County Democratic Party Vice Chair Victor Gonzalez also expressed enthusiasm for the event.

“We’re here because we recognize the tremendous contribution the NAACP has made not only to the community but to the country,” he said. “We want to be here in complete solidarity with the African-American community in recognition of this holiday.”

The Franklin County NAACP took the opportunity at the community celebration to announce the winners of the scholarships that the organization recently awarded to three local seniors. The winners of the scholarships were Kayiah Porter, who will be attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Larayna Biddle, who will attend Austin Peay State University; and Xavier Elliott, who will attend the University of Tennessee at Martin. 

The local NAACP chapter works tirelessly planning the event, and other activities throughout the day included basketball games, bingo and a dunk booth. The organization had its own tent set up, advocating for, recruiting and accepting applications for membership. 

“We’re accepting applications for new members and membership is $30 a year,” Vice President Diane Leslie said. “Once you become a member, we have plenty of work that needs done in Franklin County. We’re always looking for new people with new ideas, and we want to do the best we can to represent this county.”        

Franklin County NAACP President Cathy Beasley doubled-down on this year’s quote for the theme, adding power to it with her own words. 

“Our quote is ‘Turning our wounds into power’,” she said. “We’re not going to let what happened in the past continue to hold us back.

“We’re first and forward. We’re on our way up.”

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 under the Joe Biden administration. The holiday officially celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, specifically the day that enslaved people in Texas learned they were free.

The day commemorates the time the last large group of enslaved Americans learned of and could begin to act on their freedom. 

Sponsors of this year’s local event included former Cowan resident and NFL wide receiver Jauan Jennings, Walmart, VFW Post 1893, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, Home Depot, the Townsend Cultural Center, Citizens Community Bank, Stanley Bean, Citizens Tri-County Bank, Team Extreme by Robert Hayes, Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, Scharber’s Golf Carts, Jefferson’s restaurant and Tessa Hill Sober Living.