Bradley Co. community celebrates Juneteenth
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) — Bradley Co. held a Juneteenth community celebration at Avery Johnson Park on Saturday afternoon.
The event commemorated the end of slavery in the United States.
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17, 2021. On May 5, Governor Bill Lee declared that June 19th would be a legal holiday rather than a day of special observance.
With the recent legalization of the holiday, community members celebrated Juneteenth in Bradley Co.
The Cleveland/Bradley NAACP sponsored the event and featured music, speakers, and various vendors.
“So today we’re just celebrating freedom. And it’s good to see Bradley County come out and celebrate freedom. Family, friendship, neighborhood … And it’s also a good opportunity for us to just get together and celebrate something so monumental, as now we have a national holiday celebrating our freedom as African Americans.” Chair of Bradley Co. Democratic Party Kezmond Pugh said.
This was the first federal holiday approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day back in 1983.
The community celebration was free to the public and welcome to all.
