Preparations underway for 30th African Street Festival

JACKSON, Tenn. — It’s the 30th anniversary for a culture-filled festival in the Jackson area.

Jackson is celebrating its 30th anniversary of the African Street Festival.

“There’s a history. There’s creativity involved. We’ve had our struggles over the 30 years, but we’re still here,” said Wendy Trice Martin, president of the Society for African-American Culture Awareness.

As part of the celebration, Martin says they’re going back to their roots.

“We are bringing back our first festival DJ, DJ David Smith Blue,” Martin said.

Preparations are underway for the festival, which runs Friday through Sunday.

The parking lot at the Oman Arena will turn into an African village and feature many aspects of African culture.

“We have local talent, regional talent, and we have vendors for people to come out and shop. We have food, fun, and lots of entertainment,” Martin said.

Festival goers can participate in African dance and drum classes.

Organizers say they want to promote unity and educate the community.

“Where you’re going is to know where you come from. We know we come from Africa, where are we going? We want our children to know,” said James Theus, Jr., one of the co-founders for the SAACA.

“I like knowing what actually happened to our people. The Civil War played a great part in black people being in America today,” Theus said.

Organizers say they’re looking forward to everyone coming out for this culture-filled festival.

For the full schedule, visit the “Seen on 7” section on our website.