The Sioux City Chapter of the NAACP will be hosting their Juneteenth event Friday at the Sanford Community Center.
Monique Scarlett, president of the Sioux City NAACP, told Siouxland Public Media the importance of Juneteenth is recognizing and celebrating the freedom that was given on June 19, 1865.
She said the organization will also educate people on how to protect freedom by involving the younger generation, educating them, and getting them to understand what Juneteenth is all about.
Scarlett mentioned how the 75th anniversary of the Sanford Community Center happened to fall around the same time as Juneteenth.
The Sanford Community Center was established to serve Black people in the area, originally known as the Booker T. Washington Center.
However, Scarlett said that it welcomed people of all backgrounds and provided programs to the community, which it continues to do today, adding how the NAACP and Sanford Center renewed its partnership earlier this year.
She took a moment to honor former president of the NAACP Sioux City chapter, Richard Hayes, who recently passed away, saying he was an essential part of the organization and his legacy will live on.
The event will have many activities, food, music, and a film; the event will run from 5 to 7pm.
