The Black Heritage Festival scheduled for Saturday in Tuscaloosa will place an emphasis celebrating Juneteenth, which marks the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the United States.
“It’s already like a national holiday, right? So, we’re just trying to get it stamped in Tuscaloosa to where every year, we got something to look forward to,” said Jeffery Morrow, one of the festival’s organizers.
In 2021, President Joe Biden officially recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth came to prominence in 2020 amid nationwide protests after Minneapolis, Minnesota man George Floyd and Louisville, Kentucky woman Breonna Taylor were killed during encounters with law enforcement.
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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox have authorized Juneteenth as a holiday for state and local government workers. This year, Juneteenth will officially be observed on Monday.
Meanwhile, this year’s Black Heritage Festival, hosted by the Higher Conscious organization, will be combined with the Tuscaloosa branch of the NAACP’s Juneteenth celebration.
![Evan Campbell and CJ Miller play football together at a Juneteenth celebration on June 20, 2020 at Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa. [Photo by Hannah Saad]](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/06/15/NTTN/b613bf1f-46b3-41a1-be0a-0b7339a4f830-ALTUS-062120-JuneteenthPRINT_1.jpg?width=660&height=447&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
The two organizations will come together in an effort to celebrate Black culture with a parade, followed by a community cookout. The event is free and open to the public.
The celebration will kick off at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the parade, which will…
