FIRST ANNUAL JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 20

Family fun and cultural enlightenment are on tap during the first annual Juneteenth celebration in Cape Girardeau next week.

The Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will host Juneteenth festivities, which take place throughout the day June 20.

Juneteenth is the celebration of a day in 1865 when slaves in Texas first learned of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. The proclamation, which freed slaves living in southern States and territories, had been issued two and one-half years earlier during the Civil War on January 1, 1863.

Former slaves and their families began commemorating the event throughout the South as they began to move in search of lost family members or better jobs and living conditions. Juneteenth became a legal holiday in Texas in 1908,

Today, African American families and friends across the nation celebrate the occasion with parades, picnics, concerts and speeches on civic duties, rights and freedoms.

Local festivities include a parade which will begin at 10 a.m. at Capaha Park. The parade will move south on Broadway to Spanish St., then north on Good Hope to South Sprigg St.

Other activities include a family picnic from noon to 4 p.m. at Arena Park. NAACP president Michael Sterling said Bid-Whist tournaments, badminton and many other activities will be offered during the picnic, as well as "lots of good food" overseen by Helen Sterling.

"We plan to have lots of good food, fun and music out there for the children," he said. "We're going to go way back with some of this to make it fun for everyone."

A community commitment service which includes a gospel concert will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Show Me Center for Dr. Bernice Coar-Cobb, NAACP vice-president. Several bishops from California and Arizona with the Full Gospel Methodist Fellowship will attend the event to consecrate Cobb as a bishop for the Fifth Jurisdiction, which includes Southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky.

Cobb, an ordained minister since 1984, will be charged with getting people to commit to improving their community and lives.

Sterling said organizers are encouraging families, businesses and organizations to take part in the parade. Although Juneteenth is largely celebrated by African-Americans, it is an event which focuses on education and self-improvement that should be commemorated by all, he said.

"It's very important that the celebration is all-inclusive," he said. "We're celebrating it because we want to accentuate on our history and because there's a void of African-American celebrations in this city. But others need to know about our history because it's part of this country's history."

For more information about Juneteenth activities call (573) 334-9043.