Nichols gives Juneteenth presentation to Supes

To start the last meeting of the month for the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors on Monday evening, Starkvegas Juneteenth Committee for Unity President Frank Nichols visited the board and gave them a presentation regarding the community-wide Juneteenth celebration.

When Nichols introduced himself to the board, he presented them a letter, which he read aloud before them.

“As we approach the month of June, our Starkvegas Juneteenth Committee for Unity is gearing up for the city/county's second annual Juneteenth community-wide celebration in 2023,” said Nichols. “Juneteenth marks our country's second Independence Day and although it has been long celebrated in many African American communities, this monumental event remains unknown to many Americans.”

Nichols added that Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month, marked with community wide celebrations. In Oktibbeha County, the Starkvegas Juneteenth Committee for Unity will be putting on their second annual celebration after a successful first year.

In the letter Nichols wrote to the board, he asks them to support and help sponsor the community's annual Juneteenth celebration.

“As leaders of our community, we all understand the dire need for creating a community that embraces diversity, opportunity, and encourages positive interaction within our city, our county, our public school system, and our local institution of higher learning,” said Nichols. “Your financial support will help provide the needed resources to help educate our local citizens of the heritage and culture of African Americans. Thanks to sponsorship from community partners in 2022, the Starkvegas Juneteenth inaugural celebration was a monumental success.”

District 2 supervisor and board president Orlando Trainer commends Nichols and the Starkvegas Juneteenth Committee for Unity for putting as much effort into the celebration as they are.

“I know other communities have done some things and I know it has been very beneficial to the community. So hopefully, we may be able to find some funding to [sponsor the celebration],” said Trainer. “I'll tell you what would be really nice, if we could get some recognition from it by the State of Mississippi to acknowledge it as a federal holiday throughout the state. I think that would be something that would be really good.”

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors will meet again on Monday, April 3 at 9 a.m. upstairs in the Oktibbeha County Courthouse.