DeKalb NAACP sets 2019 Jubilee Day celebration

The DeKalb NAACP will conduct its annual observance of Jubilee Day on Jan. 1, 10 a.m. to noon, at Rainbow Park Baptist Church, 2491 Columbia Drive, Decatur.

Jubilee Day commemorates the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863 and is held each year by NAACP branches throughout the country. With the proclamation, slavery for blacks officially ended in the U.S.

The NAACP DeKalb branch’s 2019 program will have an international theme, “Searching for Justice Worldwide!”

“Prior to being emancipated from human bondage, many brave black men and women escaped to or immigrated to other countries looking for justice, tolerance, fairness and racial freedom,” said DeKalb NAACP President Teresa Hardy.  “What ever happened to these brave souls and what are their legacies?”

To help answer these questions, representatives from Canada, Liberia, Mexico and Sierra Leone have been invited to participate in the discussion and celebration. The keynote speaker will be the Rev. Sidney W. Morris, a native Liberian and director of International Outreach at the Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Program activities include music by the Rainbow Park Baptist Choir, the dissemination of African American history and distribution of an educational program souvenir booklet.  The community is invited to the event.  .

Parents are urged to bring their children to experience the enriching and uplifting educational program.

Rainbow Park Baptist is under the leadership of the Rev. Steven Dial, who is senior pastor. For more information about the Jubilee Day celebration, call the DeKalb NAACP:  404-241-8006.