Wingate University will host a Juneteenth celebration called ‘Tribe’ featuring Charlotte-based Mufuka Works Dance Company and Union County Public School students.
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WADESBORO — Wingate University is preparing to celebrate Juneteenth through a free African dance event on Thursday, June 17 at the university’s McGee Theater.
The dance and drumming event, called “Tribe,” is sponsored by Wingate’s Unity House Multicultural Center and will feature Charlotte-based Mufuka Works Dance Company and Union County Public School students.
The event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is free but tickets are required. McGee Theater is located inside the Batte Center at 403 N. Camden Road.
The June 19, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Liberation Day, commemorates when the last of the nation’s enslaved people were set free in 1865.
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier, but it wasn’t until June 19, 1865 did Union soldiers, led by Major General Grander, arrive in Galveston, Texas and inform the enslaved African-American the Civil War has ended and they were now free.
“In celebration of Juneteenth, we will take a closer look at the power of ‘Tribe,’” Dr. Antonio Jefferson, Wingate’s director of Lyceum, said in a press release. “The performances will be highlighted by Afro Russe dances — Zimbabwean dance fusion that includes ballet and contemporary dance — featuring both professional and youth dancers and drummers.”
Reserve your tickets via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/juneteenth-celebration-tickets-156942636651. Email Dr. Jefferson at a.jefferson@wingate.edu or call 704-233-8129 for more details.
