Join the African American Awareness Research Council (AAARC) of Hillsboro and Ohio Humanities for a celebration of Juneteenth Freedom Day on Saturday, June 22, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at New Hope Baptist Church in Hillsboro. This is a new location from what was previously announced due to “high temperatures,” with the previous location being Liberty Park.

Juneteenth National Independence Day is a federal holiday celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery. The celebration will feature a screening and panel discussion of “The Lincoln School Story,” a half-hour documentary from Ohio Humanities directed by award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice that examines the fight for school desegregation led by a group of Hillsboro mothers and their children in 1954.

Free copies of the children’s book “Step by Step: How the Lincoln School Marchers Blazed a Trail to Justice” will be distributed to the first 100 attendees. Step by Step author Carlotta Penn will participate in the panel discussion after the documentary and will be available during the event to sign books.

The event is free and open to the public and will feature outdoor lawn games and light snacks. For more information about The Lincoln School Story and the story behind the film, visit lincolnschoolstory.com.

This event is supported by the African American Community Fund, an affiliate of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio that serves serve African American communities throughout Appalachian Ohio’s 32 counties.