MOULTRIE, Ga. — Moultrie will hold its first celebration of Juneteenth on Friday, June 17, on the Colquitt County Courthouse Square. 

Juneteenth is the commemoration of African American slaves being freed in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. While its first celebration is listed as dating back to 1866, it was officially recognized as a national holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act. 

The Rev. R.L. Baker, senior pastor of Kingdom Living Ministries of Moultrie and a spokesman for the celebration’s organizing committee, spoke about the event in an interview on Thursday, June 9. 

When asked about the level of support and advertisement for the event Baker said, “Great — it is great. We’ve been getting it out through social media, word of mouth, flyers — the whole nine yards.” 

Baker said participants are coming from as far away as Arizona, as well as from Thomasville, Adel, Pelham, Camilla and Norman Park.

The Juneteenth program will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. with local speakers such as Darren Roberson, Bishop Vincent Jordan and pastors Dorothy Glass and Robert Collins. Other local speakers will be present as well with the addition of poetry presentations, song selections, praise dancers and demonstrations by Bautista Martial Arts. 

Moultrie Mayor Bill McIntosh and City Councilwoman Wilma Hadley are also on the program. McIntosh will read a proclamation, and Hadley will give the invocation. 

In addition to the program activities, there will be food, vendors, bounce houses and other entertainment to enjoy. Educational speakers are scheduled to be in attendance such as historian Frank Wilson and Baker, who will speak on economic empowerment. The NAACP, Crossroads ministry and NAMI of Moultrie (National Alliance of Mental Illness) will be in attendance with informational setups as well. 

“We met a lot of people who are not aware of Juneteenth, of what it is and what it means. Because it has literally been omitted from our history books, we are going out there to celebrate, commemorate and educate the community on the true meaning of Juneteenth,” Baker said. “We have a lot of educational history that will be shared out there to inform all our young people, middle aged and some elderly people who have no clue as to what Juneteenth is, and how long Juneteenth has existed.” 

Since Juneteenth is a national holiday, annual celebrations are expected; Baker and the organizing committee are planning a two-day event next year. According to Baker, the 2023 event is planned to start on a Friday with a black tie gala. The main event will be that Saturday followed by a concert at night. 

Vendors, church groups or others who are interested may call (229) 429-5263 to participate or for more information. The organizing committee will be accepting participants until Thursday, June 16.