Welcome to The South Carolina Juneteenth Freedom Festival

Emancipation was one step toward full equality. But in many ways African Americans and other people of color remain in bondage. Poor education , a massive racial wealth gap, and biased sentencing in criminal justice continue to affect minorities at disproportional rates. Even the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery, left a loophole for forced labor to continue by including the following clause: “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” The exception contained in the amendment made convict-leasing possible and served as a foundation for mass incarceration. Its more than a festival!