CLARKSVILLE, TN – Manifest Magic Black Girl Cooperative will host Clarksville’s second annual Juneteenth Festival from noon to 9 p.m. on June 18 at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center.

The weekend’s celebration begins on Thursday night, June 16, with a screening of “The Black Mosaic: Reclaiming Clarksville Stories” at the Customs House Museum from 6-9 p.m. As a part of Angela Peterson’s master’s thesis, she explores the untold and often unknown Black history of Clarksville.

The screening is followed by the Culture Ball: An Artistic Expression of Black Culture on Friday, June 17, at Civic Hall from 6-9 p.m. This ticketed event will feature fashion, and visual and performing arts as guests are treated to a soul food menu with specialty cocktails.

Powered by Emerald City CBD, this year’s Juneteenth festivities celebrate life, love, community and the culture of Black Americans through music, live performances, food, spoken word, art, literature and dance, with this year’s central theme “Flowers to the People.” To “give someone their flowers” is to show them love, appreciation, gratitude and reverence.

“The Juneteenth Festival and the events leading up to it are about sharing and celebrating the enduring and resilient beauty, strength, and grace of the Black/African-American culture, while honoring those who actively contribute to it – especially those who are still with us. We must give them their flowers while they can still smell them,” said Juanita Charles, founder of Manifest Magic Black Girl Cooperative, the event host. “We will continue to use this festival as an opportunity to break down cultural barriers and further unite our community.”

Determined to highlight the excellence of our local artists in the 2022 Juneteenth Festival,  organizers partnered with Clarksville’s Power of Words.

“My co-host, Komplex Simplicity, and I are more than excited to take part in the celebratory recognition of the sacrifices our ancestors made and we hope the artistic expressions, exhibited during our portion of the festival, honor their contribution to American history,” said J.A.K. Danger, founder and co-host of Clarksville’s Power of Words. “We’re also proud to partner with an organization working to improve the community while taking the opportunity to show how much talent sits right here in Middle Tennessee.”

Event details can be found at www.JuneteenthFestivalClarksville.com.