Augusta Commissioners on the Public Services Committee gave tentative approval to the Band of Brothers, a local non-profit, to provide in-kind services for the 2022 Juneteenth celebration that will be held downtown.
This is the fifth year that Band of Brothers has hosted an event and the first year that Juneteenth has been an official holiday in Augusta. President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday last year as well.
The city will waive the $2,500 stage fee and the $1,000 fee for the use of Augusta Common as well as any cleaning fees after the event.
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District 10 Commissioner John Clarke made the motion which was adopted unanimously.
“I have worked with these folks in the past, and I can say they do a great job. I think giving them support is the right thing to do,” Clarke said.
Also known as Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, Juneteenth has long been celebrated informally across the nation. The name Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, the date that the U.S. Army arrived in Galveston, Texas and informed slaves in the state that they were officially free.
Texas was the last state in the former Confederacy to officially free slaves living in the state.
According to the Band of Brothers, the celebration will take place over three days, with a formal gala, a comedy show and a free public event at the Augusta Common on Sunday, June 19.
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The agreement might go through final approval at the next full commission meeting on March 15.
In related commission news, a special called meeting was held where the commission unanimously rescinded the mask mandate that applied to all city buildings.
After the vote, Clerk of Commission, Lena Bonner, leaned into her mic and said, “OK, everyone, you can take you masks off, or not, it’s your decision.”
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
