This year, 2025, commemorates the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth, a defining moment in American history and a representation of freedom, resilience, and the never-ending journey toward justice.
Here in Madison, organizers are excited about that anniversary as they prepare to celebrate the 36th annual Madison Juneteenth, led by Annie Weatherby-Flowers, the longtime chair of Madison’s Juneteenth Day celebration, who describes this year’s celebration as “bittersweet.”
“In a way, it is very exciting … the 160th anniversary. But we’re also being confronted by the new Jim Crow mentality in America right now in the political system,” Weatherby-Flowers tells Madison365. “So with some of our bigger sponsors, like UW [University of Wisconsin], the funds are being attacked and people are being laid off, and some of the funding has been cut in terms of DEI across the country, affecting the funding for Juneteenth that we get from some of our biggest sponsors.”…