Emancipation Day Block Party to be held at Dixon Park in Clarksville

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – An Emancipation Day block party is planned on Aug. 3 from 5-10 p.m. in Dixon Park.

The celebration will feature Xzaundra and BWA, Tammy Hall, Burt Steppers and D.J. Folley, plus vendors, music, dance contests, food and prizes.

Aug. 8 is Emancipation Day in Tennessee, celebrating the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching the state. The reason for the date remains speculative, but it’s often said to be either denoting the day Lt. Gov. Andrew Johnson freed his personal slaves in 1863, or simply when enslaved people in Tennessee and Kentucky learned of the Emancipation Proclamation in the same year.

Sam Johnson, a former slave of Johnson, was a key organizer of the first August 8th celebration in 1871. Since then, former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen recognized Aug. 8 as Emancipation Day in Tennessee in 2007.

Free parking will be available at Fifth Ward Baptist Church at 900 Franklin St., and the Burt Cobb Community Center at 1011 Franklin.

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