THOMASVILLE- This Saturday, Juneteenth of Thomasville will be celebrated at the Thomasville Exchange Club Fairgrounds in celebration and commemoration of the ending of slavery.

Ucher Dent, the founder of Juneteenth of Thomasville, said that the day was to celebrate the ending of slavery on June 19, 1865 by Major General Gordon Granger.

“It is the celebration of the ending of slavery,” Dent said. “June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger and his federal troops went to Galveston, Texas to announce and read the General Order No. 3, which indicated that all enslaved African Americans were set free.”

A proponent of positive change within the community, Dent said that she had four major goals with organizing Juneteenth, the first of which was encouraging unity.

“The first goal is to unify the body of Christ and people in general, of all races, denominations and ethnicities,” Dent said. “Secondly, is to celebrate the ending of slavery. Because when slavery ended, unity should have begun and if we’re going to be in heaven together rejoicing then we should start here on Earth.”

Alongside bridging the gap of racial divide, Dent said that her goals included addressing the still existing barriers in the lives of those in the community.

“We’re addressing every area of a person’s life that has barriers that keep them from really maximizing their authentic potential,” she said. “We know that jobs, homelessness, mental health, addiction, those can be barriers that can keep a person enslaved. We had physical slavery, we’ve conquered that, now we have to fight against the barriers that keep us enslaved mentally, spiritually, socially, economically and academically.”

Dent said the Juneteenth celebration at the fairgrounds will have representatives from mental health centers, criminal record expungement organizations, and other beneficial resources, such as realtors and credit repair and budgeting aids.

“We will have so many other exhibitors and resources within our community that people can benefit from,” she said.

The last goal for Juneteenth is to educate the community about the path that the African American community has tread to gain their freedom and the achievements that they’ve engraved into American history.

“The other one is to educate,” she said. “We want to educate the people in this community about the African American path to freedom and their achievements. You’re gonna see a lot of displays that some of the children at the Boys & Girls Club have put together, posters, maybe essays, drawings, artwork of Juneteenth, some black history, facts and information.”

Additionally, the celebration will involve live music, keynote speakers, including Judge Tangela Barrie of the Dekalb County Superior Court and a large assortment of vendors.

“We have so many vendors, maybe over 75 vendors,” she said.

Play areas for young children, comprised of water slides and bounce houses, will also be available alongside a trackless train ride. Dent added that a car, bike and truck show was also being organized for the celebration at the fairgrounds.

Dent said that she was excited and that having to move to the Thomasville Exchange Club Fairgrounds was a big change, but overall a great idea for the crowd they were expecting.

“We’re expecting a big crowd,” she said. “We had to move to the fairgrounds, which was a great idea, because we now have more space and the vision can be expanded now. We won’t be limited by space, parking was an issue last year, and we’ll have access to the entire fairground.”

The gates open at 2 p.m. on June 17, and center around the theme of commemorating, educating and celebrating all cultures.