By T. Scott Boatright
The city of Grambling’s 2025 Juneteenth celebration came to a close Thursday, highlighted by the annual parade that rolled through the Grambling State University campus and then Main Street, better known as “The Village.”
Juneteenth commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth (short for “June 19th”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed.
Leading off the parade were Grambling Mayor Alvin Bradley and his wife Monica followed by the city’s 2025 Juneteenth Royalty — Little Miss Juneteenth Alaya Nichelle Casson; Junior Miss Juneteenth Evangeline Sha’Marie Rhodes; and Miss Juneteenth Aubrey Champion.
That was followed by a Health Fair held in the Community Room at Grambling City Hall.
Organizations and businesses manning booths at the Health Fair included the Louisiana Family Medical Clinic, Lincoln Nova Vital Recovery, the Greater Grambling Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln Preparatory School, Louisiana Key Academy, the National Marrow Donor Program, the NAACP, Lincoln Community Health Center and the Bienville Family Clinic/Wellness Center.
Bradley said he was thrilled with the way this year’s more than weeklong Juneteenth celebration went for the city.
“It’s been awesome,” Bradley said. “A lot of our events have been well-attended. The citizens have come out and given us feedback on how much they appreciated everything and how much they enjoyed themselves.
“The Bible Study session (Wednesday) night was awesome. All the events have been great and well attended and I thank (Grambling City Council member) Cathy Giles (Grambling’s Juneteenth Chairperson) and Jeffery Simms (Grambling Chamber of Commerce Director) and many others for putting together such a wonderful celebration.”
