Madison's Juneteenth event celebrates 30 years

(NBC15)
Published: Jun. 15, 2019 at 8:27 PM CDT
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Madison held its annual Juneteenth parade and celebration Saturday in Penn Park.

This marked the 30th year the city has held a Juneteenth event, celebrating the end of slavery and the freeing of slaves in the U.S. South.

Saturday's celebration tried to showcase African-American culture through music, dancing, food and educational events for children. Madison's Juneteenth founder and organizer Annie Weatherby-Flowers said she wants people to learn about how black culture's influence on the world.

"We influence 90 percent of the urban culture across the world, so our music, our dance, our movement, our swag, our food, has been something that everybody is emulating," she said. ". If you want to go past America, to Africa, we are the foundation of the world. All people generated from black people."

Weatherby-Flowers also said she wants the event to be a positive portrayal of the African-American community.

"I use Juneteenth as a platform so they can learn about positive contributions, the history, because we are not teaching that in schools. And some of the families do not teach that at home. So this is one day that not only our community but others can get a glimpse of who we are, despite what the media portrayal of black folks around this nation," Weatherby-Flowers said.