For many Black Kentuckians and Tennesseans, August 8 is a day to mark freedom
For many Black Kentuckians and Tennesseans, August 8 is a day to mark freedom
Black communities in Kentucky and Tennessee have celebrated the eighth of August for more than 150 years. It's a day for barbecue, loved ones and marking freedom from slavery.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
For many Black people in Kentucky and Tennessee, the 8 of August is a special day in the same spirit as Juneteenth. And as Derek Operle of member station WKMS reports, the regional emancipation celebration was started by the freed slave of a U.S. president.
DEREK OPERLE, BYLINE: Black communities in Kentucky and Tennessee have been turning out on the 8 of August for over 150 years, marking their freedom from slavery with homecomings, historical remembrances and usually a good party.
READ MORE: For many Black Kentuckians and Tennesseans, August 8 is a day to mark freedom https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1116390125/...
Black communities in Kentucky and Tennessee have celebrated the eighth of August for more than 150 years. It's a day for barbecue, loved ones and marking freedom from slavery.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
For many Black people in Kentucky and Tennessee, the 8 of August is a special day in the same spirit as Juneteenth. And as Derek Operle of member station WKMS reports, the regional emancipation celebration was started by the freed slave of a U.S. president.
DEREK OPERLE, BYLINE: Black communities in Kentucky and Tennessee have been turning out on the 8 of August for over 150 years, marking their freedom from slavery with homecomings, historical remembrances and usually a good party.
READ MORE: For many Black Kentuckians and Tennesseans, August 8 is a day to mark freedom https://www.npr.org/2022/08/08/1116390125/...
RHONDA SMITH: I'm 64. I was 63 when I first celebrated Juneteenth. And I wouldn't have done it then if my daughter wasn't cooking fish (laughter). I wouldn't have got up and went.