Flint

• PRESS RELEASE: For Immediate Release - June 12, 2000; Media Contact: Rev. Wendell Anthony, President (313) 538-8695 Heaster Wheeler, Executive Director (313) 871-2087 ext. 228 Becky Burton, Director of Public Relations (313) 871-2087 ext. 232 Detroit Branch NAACP - Young Adult Committee Hosts Juneteenth Celebration The Detroit Branch NAACP’s Young Adult Committee, along with the 4-H Community Center and the National Association of Juneteenth Lineage, is hosting the first Juneteenth Celebration of the new millennium on Saturday, June 17, 2000 at the 4-H Community Center, 5710 McClellan from 12 noon until dusk. The all-day festival is free and open to the public. Programming includes a full day of activities that appeal to all age groups including a Family Union BBQ, a Black Music Month Concert comedians, Reggae, poets, Blues and Hip Hop; a Get Out the Vote Rally (GOTV), Health Screening, an African Marketplace, games, speakers, drill team demonstrations, face painting, and story telling. Current contributors include: Volkswagen of America, Inc., Northwest Airlines, Ameritech, Co-op Services Credit Union, Brogan & Partners, Muchmore, Harrington Smalley & Associates, the Inner City Sub-Center, Black Family Development, Inc., Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, FOCUS: Hope, Genesis Community Development Corp., and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. "The young people of the Detroit Branch NAACP put out a call to action and the response was overwhelming," said Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP. "This is an opportunity for the NAACP to act as a catalyst to giving back to the community. We want the families of Detroit to come out and enjoy themselves so that we may rejuvenate the efforts of justice, freedom and self-determination." JUNETEENTH is the official Black Independence Day as acknowledged by the Senate and House of Representatives, co-sponsored, in part, by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan in 1997. JUNETEENTH, or Jubilee, refers to the time in mid-June 1865 when the message of freedom reached the slave plantations in America’s southwestern frontier. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger riding on horseback, followed by his federal troops, entered the city of Galveston, Texas, and brought the news of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Lincoln in September 1862, issued the document to free slaves as of January 1, 1863; however, recognition of the proclamation spread slowly because of the Civil War. "It was our vision to organize an event that would enlist the help of several organizations with similar missions in an effort to reach the grassroots community," said William Watkins, Acting Chair of the Detroit NAACP Young Adult Committee. "Often times our messages and our missions get lost in fight for justice and those who truly need the resources that we provide never hear about them. This is our way to reaching out to those who have lost contact with both the NAACP and the community activist movement and help them to return home." The Young Adult Committee is comprised of NAACP members between the ages of 18 – 35. If you are interested on becoming a member of the Young Adult Committee please call 871-2087.

• PotLuck Family & Friends activity in the backyard Theme is Celebrating Freedom Accepting Donations for the Ruby T. O'Neal Memorial Scholarship fund (to assist youth in the pursuit of higher education) For information contact Doena @ 313-673-7035