Page 2 - Memphi Juneteenth News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Local Juneteenth events are growing across the U.S. now that it's a federal holiday. Stacker created a list of 10 notable celebrations.

Local Juneteenth events are growing across the U.S. now that it's a federal holiday. Stacker created a list of 10 notable celebrations.

It’s a party that’s more than a century overdue. Memphis’ Juneteenth celebration will move from Robert R. Church Park to Health Sciences Park. To the place where a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest – a slave trader and Confederate general whose troops slaughtered surrendering Black troops at Fort Pillow 157 years ago – cast its shadow since 1904. That statue was removed in 2017. This month, the park was purged of Forrest’s remains and that of his wife. Just in time for the freedom festivities to commence. “When they come to the festival in Health Sciences Park, not only will they...

The festival will take place in the park June 18 and 19. The Forrests' remains are still in Health Sciences Park though the bronze equestrian monument honoring the once slave-trader who presided over the slaughter of Black Union Army soldiers was removed in December 2017.  The removal of the monument came after more than a year of protests lead by grassroots group #TakeEmDown901 and after a city council vote secured the sale of Health Sciences Park to Memphis Greenspace Inc. The sale allowed officials to bypass Tennessee laws that prohibited the removal of such monuments.  The pandemic for...