Saturday, June 15, 2013
The Cobb NAACP held their annual Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday. The day was full of food, music and performances celebrating African-American heritage and the end of slavery. For the past 10 years the Cobb NAACP has put on the festival which commemorates the name given to the date June 19, 1865, the date that the last United States slaves were freed. Though the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had minimal immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas, which was almost entirely under Confederate control. On June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is the oldest, largest and strongest Civil Rights Organization in the United States. The principal objective of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of the United States. The NAACP was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to helping to right social injustices. The NAACP is a network of more than 2,200 branches covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and Germany.
Akella Clore (left) dances with Deja Bolton as Aminah Khan dances with Kaia Bolton during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Niara Minnifields (center) and her mother Colette taste some of the food available during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Nia Caudle (center) jumps into the center of a hoop as she plays games during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Lisa Faust (right) looks at sundresses for sale during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Matthew Gibbs (center), half of the performance duo Kinetix, performs with James D. Love during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Brent Echols checks on the meat cooking in his smoker during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Isha Faye (right) and Oumie Faye sit on a bench as they watch the performances during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Matthew Gibbs (center), half of the performance duo Kinetix, performs during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
James D. Love (left), half of the performance duo Kinetix, performs during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
King Jones (right), Sterling McClary, Charles Reed and Julian Guzman perform during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Paige White (right) and Chardonnay Morgan perform during the Cobb NAACP Juneteenth Celebration in Marietta Square on Saturday, June 15, 2013.