The Ray Mart Radio Show & Friends to host Juneteenth parade in Downtown Kinston
Kinston will host its first Juneteenth parade this summer, with organizers inviting residents, churches, civic groups, businesses and community organizations to take part in the downtown celebration.
The parade is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, June 20, in downtown Kinston. The event is being organized and hosted by Edward Hardy and The Ray Mart Radio Show & Friends, in collaboration with Downtown Kinston Revitalization.
“Downtown events help strengthen community connections, and this parade has the potential to do that in a powerful way,” Steele said. “We are proud to collaborate with Edward Hardy and The Ray Mart Radio Show & Friends as they work to bring people together for Kinston’s first Juneteenth parade.”
The parade will be live streamed by Magic Mile Media, similar to the Kinston Christmas parade and hosted on the Downtown Kinston Revitalization Facebook Page.
Hardy said the idea came to him while he was attending a Black history play at church.
“I was sitting in a Black history play at church, and it just came on me that that would be something nice to do, a Juneteenth parade, since it’s never been done,” Hardy said.
Hardy said he reached out to Leon Steele, executive director of Downtown Kinston Revitalization, to ask about the idea. Steele encouraged him to move forward, Hardy said, and later met with him to discuss the process.
“He said it would be a great idea,” Hardy said. “He said that if it can be done, you are the one to do it. And that just gave me the inspiration to move forward.”
Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Hardy said registration for the parade began Tuesday, April 21, and the event already had about 20 entries within the first few days. Organizers are still accepting participants and sponsors.
“We are looking for lineup,” Hardy said. “Right now, I think we have somewhere around 20 entries.”
Hardy said people interested in participating can contact him for a registration form, which can be sent by message, picked up at the studio or delivered.
The event also has support from Hardy’s church, Herring Grove Free Will Baptist Church, led by Pastor Michelle Gooding.
“They are very supportive,” Hardy said. “Can’t do anything without them.”
Hardy said the goal is to make the parade a positive community event that brings people together and celebrates Kinston’s history.
“I’d like the community to know that it’s something that we want to do to bring awareness, and we want to bring togetherness, and we want to show some love in Kinston,” Hardy said. “Kinston right now is so looked down upon. And I just want people out there, other than Kinston, to know that we can come together. And we can do something positive for this community.”
For more information, to register or to sponsor the parade, contact The Ray Mart Radio Show & Friends at 252-525-0323 or raymartradio@gmail.com.
