Juneteenth celebration honors historically Black corridor in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Local nonprofit For the Struggle and The Gantt Center team up to honor the rich history and legacy along the Beatties Ford corridor.

Almost 40 years ago, Beatties Ford Road was buzzing for West Fest.

The annual event in the historically Black corridor brought the community together to celebrate culture, music and food.

This Juneteenth weekend, it’ll buzz again as a nod to West Fest.

“We’re hoping that people will learn more about the history of not only West Fest, but of a lot of the civil rights history that happened right here on this corridor,” founder of For the Struggle, Alesha Brown, told Channel 9’s Deneige Broom.

For the last seven years, For the Struggle has hosted a Juneteenth celebration, but this year, the annual event will be an ode to West Fest right in front of West Charlotte High School where it all began.

“They were celebrating culture. They were celebrating unity. They were celebrating history. They were celebrating love within our community,” Brown said.

Blake Falls, 18, wasn’t born when West Fest started, but this weekend, she’ll honor the past, present and future by performing on the Juneteenth stage to Kendrick Lamar’s “Crown.”

“The song is mainly about being yourself and not trying to fit into the social standard and how everybody else wants you to be somebody that you’re not,” Falls said.

She’s been a part of the Juneteenth celebrations in the past and believes her contribution is what being active in your community is all about.

“Hopefully they get moved by the performance and feel something and feel empowered and inspired,” she said.

No matter your age, there will be something for everyone this Saturday, Brown said.

“There’s a kids section where there’s a bouncy house, face painting, the icy machine, a game truck for the older kids,” she said. “Everything from youth dancers; we have African storytellers, we have African drummers and dance routines.”

An Ode to West Fest will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday in west Charlotte.

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