Tulsa’s celebration marking the end of slavery in the U.S. is growing again.
After concerts at Guthrie Green the past two years, new events and new partners are joining Tulsa’s Juneteenth events this year. City Councilor Jack Henderson said it will help bring Tulsa together.
"And I'm excited about the Greenwood Chamber, the Jazz Hall of Fame, Guthrie Green and all of the rest of them that have said, 'Enough is enough. Let's pull this off. Let's come together, and let's unify this city once and for all,'" Henderson said.
The Greenwood Chamber, Living Arts Tulsa and Guthrie Green are among this year’s partners, and events will include concerts, fashion shows, and performing and visual arts exhibits. Organizer Rebecca Marks-Jimerson said they want Tulsans to know Juneteenth is an inclusive celebration.
"This is the people's celebration this year," Marks-Jimerson said. "Before, it's been seen as, 'This is just a black thing. This is an African-American thing.' But it's a people thing."
State Rep. Regina Goodwin said Juneteenth is about everyone understanding our shared history.
"Beyond the words of reconciliation, beyond the singing and the dancing, there's a coming together that says this group right here can be the beginning of real progress in Tulsa, Okla., and that is exciting," Goodwin said.
The first event is a June 16 screening of Ike Water’s Juneteenth documentary. Water is from Galveston, Texas. Abolition was announced in Texas June 19, 1865.
Tulsa's Juneteenth festivities wrap up June 19.
