Monday, June 19, is Juneteenth, which marks the end of institutional slavery in the US. This will be the fourth year of the Louisville Juneteenth Festival , which takes place on Saturday, June 18 at the Belvedere.
Here are three other events to check out before the big day.
Juneteenth Gala | Friday, June 16
This dinner honors the racial equity work of historians + future and present leaders at the Muhammad Ali Center. Tickets start at $150.
“The Fannie Lou Hamer Story” | Saturday, June 17
This one-person play tells the story of how this civil rights activist became the catalyst of the Voter’s Rights Act of 1965. Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage start at $25.
An Evening with Former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker | Monday, June 19
Hear Frank debut a collection of poems about African Americans in Kentucky during the Civil War at this free Frazier History Museum event.