LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — This Saturday the City of Little Rock and the rest of the country will celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans
“This shouldn’t be just a Black holiday; we’re celebrating freedom for all Americans," said Brian Rodgers with the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.
The holiday also gives people a chance to understand the history of Little Rock's 9th Street.
“The neighborhood really started pre-civil war when it was known as Hazel Street,” Rodgers explained.
Following the fall of Little Rock in 1863 during the Civil War, 9th Street began to take shape.
“So, they start to begin Black businesses, Black hospitals, Black lawyers, Black doctors, and all of these are concentrated on the west end of 9th Street,” he described.
As the decades passed, 9th Street became vibrant for business and entertainment— most notably inside the current flag and banner building in the Dreamland Ballroom.
“Musical stars like Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole. They danced and they danced until 2 or 3 in the morning, and they ate and had a great time. There were restaurants and liquor stores that catered to that nighttime crowd,” Rodgers added.
Unfortunately, long gone are the glory days of Dreamland Ballroom. However, ahead of the Juneteenth Holiday, Rodgers and the Mosaic Templars have their eyes on the future.
“We would like to see this area become a historic neighborhood where we focus on bringing back some of those things that existed here,” he said.