Photo credits: D.P. Morris/Getty Images
The Arkansas Times reported that plans for a Juneteenth soul food festival in Little Rock, Arkansas were canceled Tuesday (April 26) after anger erupted on social media when an advertising proof of the event was leaked.
The celebration to celebrate the liberation of slaves was scheduled for June 17 and included “3 levels of cuisine from some of Arkansas’ premier restaurants and caterers.” The flyer also included images of three white folks who would be hosting the event.
It triggered an outcry on Twitter, prompting Muskie Harris, a Black event organizer, to cancel the soul food festival.
On Tuesday (April 26), Arkansas Urban League CEO Scott D. Hamilton wrote a statement on Facebook denying the organization’s involvement in the event.
“The Arkansas Urban League is not and has never been engaged in any element of this program. We are worried about the impression of unapproved involvement. It’s very bad that some people didn’t see the optics and the imperative necessity to participate before this was established “The statement is as follows:
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 when President Biden signed legislation making it the first since Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday in 1983.
The day enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were notified that they had been emancipated two years earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation is commemorated on June 19, 1865.
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