- Thousands gathered for the Juneteenth Empowerment Day Festival at Cascades Park.
- There were live musical performances, several food trucks and more than 100 vendors.
- Watch the video to hear from organizers and neighbors about how this event honored history, unity and cultural empowerment.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Mya Barber, Attendee - "It's just so empowering and so exciting and it's a freedom that I wish we could live in all the time."
I'm Kenya Cardonne, your neighborhood reporter in Southeast Tallahassee, where thousands have gathered to celebrate empowerment ahead of Juneteenth.
Barber - "Happy early Juneteenth! Love being Black, hello!"
Neighbor Mya Barber.. one of more than two thousand who came out to the Juneteenth Empowerment Day Festival Saturday.
It's the fourth annual festival, commemorating the unity and empowerment stemming from Juneteenth-- a federal holiday celebrated every year on June 19th, marking the end of slavery in the country.
Cascades Park was filled with live musical performances, several food trucks and more than 100 vendors.
Alfred Williams II, CEO of Capital City Cultural Community Outreach - "For the young entrepreneur — young, old, middle age — for them to have a chance to actually make some money and show the development of their specific company."
Emanie Coulanges, Owner of Belle Fleur & Co. - "It's very nice to see other Black businesses coming together and coming to together as a community to sell to each other and learn from one another."
But above all, neighbors tell me the feeling of unity is unbeatable.
Barber - "To be people around people who are not like ashamed of being Black, but they're like living it and like being bold. Black women, Black men, Black children, like, it's just so empowering and so exciting and it's a freedom that I wish we could live in all the time."
Organizers were also able to award scholarships to nine elementary, middle and high school students.
In Southeast Tallahassee, Kenya Cardonne, ABC 27
