City of Radcliff celebrating Juneteenth

The City of Radcliff will celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, with an event this Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at North Hardin High School.

“We’re celebrating the ability to go in and do things that we never got to do before, and we want our children and our families and others to remember where we came from in order to be able to go into the future and do some great and amazing things and not take it for granted,” said Radcliff City Council Member Michelle Mitchell. 

The event will feature food trucks, live music, vendors, speakers, resources, a kid zone, and giveaways.

Event organizer Kevin Russell says the theme of this year’s event is “Past, Present, and Future,” and three individuals (Carl Brashear, Mary Gathers, and Jathan Brydie) will be honored for their contributions to the community.

The featured speaker is Earle, Arkansas, Mayor Jaylen Smith, the youngest African-American mayor in the United States.

“He’s going to come to talk to us about community involvement and how we all can make our community grow; how we all, everybody, can be a part of the community,” Russell said. “You may think that ‘my little piece is not significant,’ but everybody’s piece is significant to make your community grow.”

The Radcliff Juneteenth celebration is free and open to the public.