Mayor Freddie O’Connell has proclaimed June 19, 2024, as Juneteenth Independence Day in Nashville, and will speak Wednesday evening at the historic Fort Negley site for the Juneteenth615 event. One of Mayor O’Connell’s first executive orders (Executive Order 3) continued the recognition of Juneteenth as an official holiday of Metro Government and Metro Offices will be closed on Wednesday, June 19 in observance of holiday.
“We will continue to advance policies anchored in equity, inclusion and belonging because those policies reveal our strengths,” Mayor O’Connell said. “Juneteenth honors the past, but it also frames the future. It challenges us to live up to the great ideals of this nation, to match the eloquence of our words with the honesty of our deeds. It reminds us that from our darkest moments, we have the capacity to dream, to heal and to rise, especially when we work together.”
In his speech at the Juneteenth event at Fort Negley, Mayor O’Connell will acknowledge the enduring story of Fort Negley and the loss of Civil Rights icon James Lawson.
More than 2,700 free Black people built Fort Negley for the Union back in 1864. It took them just four months to construct the largest inland stone fortification established during the Civil War. Immediately, during the Battle of Nashville on December 15 and 16, 1864, Black soldiers played a key role in defending the city. It was among the final major conflicts of the war and marked the largest participation of Black soldiers in the Civil War.
Nashville recently celebrated 615 Day which marks the significant growth in Black Nashville Music and which coincided with the 10-day celebration of Taste of Freedom Restaurant week. Mayor O’Connell and Chief Development Officer Bob Mendes visited The Horn, one of 24 restaurants participating. Taste of Freedom Restaurant week celebrates the rich contributions that black-owned restaurants have made to Nashville’s culinary scene. Other Juneteenth events have included Black on Buchanan, the Juneteenth Music City 5K, and Music City Freedom Festival at Hadley Park.