All of Greater Chattanooga & Hamilton County is invited to join us for the 158^th Annual Juneteenth Independence Day Commemoration Ceremony. The ceremony will include the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation and the singing of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice” and other freedom songs.

Immediately following the ceremony will begin our Oscar Michaux Black Film Festival. Our film festival highlights films made by local Black filmmakers. We also feature films, including documentaries, made by national and international Black filmmakers. 

Oscar Micheaux (1884 - 1951) was a pioneering African-American author, filmmaker, and without a doubt the most famous producer of race films. In 1919, he formed his own movie production company and became the first African-American to ever make a film shown in “white” movie theaters. Over his illustrious career, Micheaux wrote, produced, and directed forty-four feature-length films and wrote seven novels, one of which was a national bestseller.

Given the times, his accomplishments in publishing and film are both unprecedented and awe-inspiring. He used his art to portray truer narratives of the Black experience and to combat the racism of the times, as captured so neatly in D.W. Griffith’s notorious film, ‘The Birth of a Nation’.

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The full schedule of films & panel discussions as well as Special Guest to be announced soon!

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