At a Juneteenth celebration in Jackson, residents are remembering the anniversary of the end of slavery. The celebration comes as rallies continue across the country against police violence and systemic racism. Calvert White with Black Lives Matter Mississippi says organizing protests and advocating for change has been a full-time effort. “We’re using this as a getaway, if you will, before we go back and hit the ground running as far as the black lives matter movement," says White. "It also helps to empower black businesses. And this is all about the black dollar, the black artist, the black vendors, black musicians that are all gonna be here today to try to revitalize the economy.”
Jasmine Williams is founder of Sipp Talk, an organization aggregating black culture in Mississippi. She says Juneteenth is a time to reflect on struggles in the black community, while also celebrating black culture. “Because all of these things that are happening in the national conversation are like ‘black people geting beat up by the police, being killed by the police’ and so today I think is a perfect time to celebrate the good things, to kind of keep the peace or hold us over for all of the bad news that we’ve been having to push through lately," says Williams.
A mural was also unveiled at the event to raise awareness for black families in Mississippi who don’t have access to fresh produce. Local artist Adrienne Domnick says the mural depicts a family cooking food grown from a garden. Domnik says “Especially during a pandemic, I think everybody is looking for ways to be self served. And I think this project is at least starting the conversation around food access in Mississippi.”