It was a celebration of history and culture at Jefferson Street Park Friday as Tullahoma Parks and Recreation hosted its Juneteenth Celebration event this past Friday.

The event was filled with food, family and fun as residents gathered at Jefferson Street Park to celebrate both the holiday and look forward to the future.

Following a welcome from JT Northcutt and a quick prayer, Tullahoma Mayor Lynn Sebourn spoke first and said he appreciated everything and everyone involved for making the event possible.

“It’s a great day to celebrate and, uh, I’m really happy the city does this, and I hope we continue this for a long time,” Sebourn said.

Next to speak was Tullahoma native Thomas Davis, the founder of the non-profit organization Focus And Follow Through, Inc., whose mission is assist the youth with their transition into adulthood through mentorship programs, financial assistance and creating a positive environment to help the youth reach their full potential. Davis wished everyone a happy Juneteenth and thanked Parks and Rec and City Administrator Jeff Damron, noting that the event has been growing every year and he’s excited for the years to come.

Davis then announced this year’s recipient of the $1,000 Focus and Follow Through scholarship, which went to Billy Brown, Jr., who’ll be attending Alabama A&M.

Following Davis was Tullahoma Alderman Sernobia McGee, who thanked Parks and Rec, Focus and Follow Through, Northcutt and Sebourn for collaborating to make this event happen. McGee said she doesn’t get caught up in her accolades, which include being the first Black woman to be appointed and then elected to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, but said she was thankful and very proud to serve her community and be a part of the community she grew up in.

“I don’t take it lightly,” McGee said. “I just want to serve to make you all very proud.”

McGee proceeded with her speech by reciting Psalms 1:1-3, and encouraging everyone to stay rooted and continue to rise as they celebrate Juneteenth, which she shared that it had been 161 years since African Americans were freed.

 “If ever there was a time for us to be rooted and continue to rise, a time for us to be resurrected, and a time for new beginnings, now is that time,” McGee said. “Everything that our forefathers and trailblazers worked hard for is slowly being stripped away from us.”

McGee then called for unity in the community, to stop tearing each other down and start building each other up instead.

“Let’s stop the division and become unified,” she said. “We are living in a time where racism has been resurrected. So today, we celebrate and honor the strength, the resilience, and the triumph of a people who never gave up and will continue to fight for freedom.”

The final guest speaker was Eric Vanzant, an ordained minister at Agape Ministries in Winchester, and serves as the director of the Campora Family Resource Center. Vanzant said he thanked God that they are able to not only celebrate Juneteenth, but to commemorate its history and what they need to do to move forward.

“History’s not a trophy,” Vanzant said. “It’s not something that you put in a box and you just always look at it. History is something we’re supposed to learn from. Guess what? I can’t live in the future and I can’t live in the past, so all of that, all of history is to help me to live right now.”

Vanzant said he always hears people talking about what “they ought to be doing” rather than actually doing something to make the community better. He also responded to the statement of “we dealing with so much stuff,” with that their forefathers dealt with stuff too, but they still did something to help their community.

“We’ve got some stuff that we still dealing with, right? But that stuff that we dealing with cannot become an excuse for you to stay where you are, and if you continue to use excuses, you will never make progress,” Vanzant said. “You can’t make progress and make excuses at the same time.”

He continued his speech and said that it is their responsibility to teach the younger generations the history, not so they can live in the history, but to learn from it and be the best version of themselves. He also shared several stories and encouraged attendees to make a move, not excuses. 

“I’m asking you today to make a move,” Vanzant said. “A move to love, make a move to help your fellow man, and make a move to take advantage of every opportunity that’s been afforded to you. With God on our side, we are unstoppable.”

Following Vanzant’s speech, the rest of the afternoon featured musical performances from the Shorter Chapel Choir, Sernobia McGee & Friends, the Hamilton Brothers and Utopia, who provided the sound equipment and microphone for speakers and performers.

About Juneteenth

According to the website for the National Museum of African American History and Culture at The Smithsonian, on June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, TX with news of freedom and the end of the war. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. In 2021, Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday, opening it to symbolic and global interpretation and providing a better understanding of the evolution of our nation and its people. Juneteenth celebrations then, like now, recognize the ongoing fight for human rights and equality and are commemorated through family cookouts, faith services, musical performances, fellowships, and storytelling events.