Next month is Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans after the end of the Civil War.
In 2018, the first Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts and Ideas coincided with Juneteenth - before it became an official holiday at the Federal, state or local level.
Now, the Festival has grown into an ongoing, year-round series of multi-day festivals that celebrate Black arts across disciplines.
This year's Juneteenth Festival in the series begins Saturday, June 1st.
Ric Morris is founder and CEO of the Chattanooga Festivals of Black Arts and Ideas.
