Written by T. Scott Boatright
The annual parade that went across the Grambling State University campus and then Main Street, also known as The Village, marked the conclusion of the city of Grambling’s 2025 Juneteenth celebration on Thursday.
Juneteenth honors the day that slavery was officially abolished in the United States. The date that federal forces arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to seize control of the state and guarantee the emancipation of all enslaved people is known as Juneteenth, which is short for June 19th.
The city’s 2025 Juneteenth Royalty Little Miss Juneteenth Alaya Nichelle Casson, Junior Miss Juneteenth Evangeline Sha Marie Rhodes, and Miss Juneteenth Aubrey Champion led the procession, followed by Grambling Mayor Alvin Bradley and his spouse Monica.
A Health Fair was then hosted in Grambling City Hall’s Community Room.
The Louisiana Family Medical Clinic, Lincoln Nova Vital Recovery, the Greater Grambling Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Preparatory School, Louisiana Key Academy, the National Marrow Donor Program, the NAACP, Lincoln Community Health Center, and the Bienville Family Clinic/Wellness Center were among the businesses and organizations that had booths at the Health Fair.
Bradley expressed his excitement over the success of the city’s more than week-long Juneteenth celebration this year.
“It has been fantastic,” Bradley remarked. We’ve had a lot of well-attended events. People have come out and told us how much they enjoyed themselves and how much they appreciate everything.
The Wednesday night Bible study session was fantastic. All of the events have been fantastic and highly attended, and I want to thank Jeffery Simms, the director of the Grambling Chamber of Commerce, Cathy Giles, a member of the city council, and many others for organizing such a fantastic celebration.
