The second annual Chapel Hill-Carrboro Juneteenth Celebration will be taking place Sunday, June 19, at Hargraves Community Center from 2 to 6 p.m. — marking the second year Chapel Hill and Carrboro have joined to celebrate Emancipation Day after declaring official observance and commemoration in 2020.

The event is being planned by representatives from Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP and NAACP Youth Council, the Marion Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Office of Equity and Engagement, the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA), and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

“I’m so excited for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community to be introduced to a multitude of Black-owned businesses in food vendors throughout the area,” said Kendall Lytle, a member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Youth Council. “The movement to #BuyBlack has always been so important to me, so the opportunity to promote these Black-owned businesses is an honor.”

The celebration will include live music from local Black artists, a Black-owned small business fair, kids activities, food trucks and much more in celebration and remembrance. The main stage will feature a variety of local musical acts, including the Gospel Winds, the R&B ensemble Souls of Joy, hip-hop performer Kevin “Rowdy” Rowsey, and steel drummer highlight Mickey Mills & Steel. Chapel Hill Poet Laureate CJ Suitt and Carrboro Poet Laureate Fred Joiner will also perform on this stage. Check out the gallery below for images of artists and short descriptions from the event’s website!

Kevin “Rowdy” Rowsey is a National Recording Artist, Writer, Actor, and Educator based in the North Carolina Triangle Area. Rowdy has been featured on BET, NPR, PBS Kids, and has given a TEDX talk on the importance of Hip Hop Culture. Rowsey is a U.S. Hip Hop Ambassador through the U.S. Department of State and the Next Level Hip Hop Program. Rowdy hopes spread southern hip hop at a national and international level through performance, writing and educational workshops inspiring the culture through the craft.
Gospel Group from Chapel Hill
Finesse consists of a group of talented musicians who have been performing over a span of twenty years in the triangle area and beyond. Our goal is to touch and inspire hearts and souls throughout our communities as music has done for generations around the world.
CJ Suitt (he/him/they/them) is a performance poet, arts educator, and community organizer from Chapel Hill, N.C., whose work is rooted in storytelling and social justice. Suitt was appointed as the Town of Chapel Hill’s first poet laureate in 2019.
Zion Project was formed in the year 2010 as a praise team at Faith Tabernacle Oasis of Love Church in Chapel Hill. The members are Malika Mills (lead singer), Cheryl Long (back up singer), and Dianne George (back up singer). We the sister’s of Zion are apart of Mickey Mills and Steel. Were excited to give thanks and praise in our unique style of Caribbean Soul, and uplifting message in song.
Fred Joiner is a poet and curator based in Chapel Hill, NC. He is 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and the current Poet Laureate for the Town of Carrboro.
The Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Team is comprised of 160 boys and girls from the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area of North Carolina, ranging in age from 5 to 26. Their innovative jumping style includes fancy footwork, flips, and other acrobatic skills with ropes of various lengths.

 

Outside of music and stage performances, local small business owners will be selling handcrafted goods and wares, non-profits and community groups will be present providing information and opportunities for interested attendees to get involved, local Black-owned restaurants and food trucks will have a large variety of dishes available, and there will even be a basketball clinic for kids inside the Hargraves gym, along with a special performance from local favorite — and nationally recognized! —  jump rope team, the Bouncing Bulldogs! Local Black-owned businesses and organizations will be highlighted throughout the event. Small business vendors will sell handcrafted goods and wares inside the center, while non-profits and community groups will engage eventgoers outside. Local Black-owned restaurants and food trucks will serve a variety of foods and special menu items, and organizers will have assembled exhibits for attendees to learn more about local Black history and culture.

Planning is still underway for Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s in-person Juneteenth Celebration. Regular updates will be shared via social media and the official website at chapelhillcarrborojuneteenth.org.

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