Curated by Hanan Hameen, founder of the Artsucation Academy Network and Official Juneteenth Coalition of Greater New Haven, the Juneteenth festivities will feature a performance on June 18 including a welcome back from Hameen as well as a highlighted jazz performance by Jesse “Cheese” Kilpatrick Hameen II and his jazz band Elevation. Hameen is an internationally recognized Jazz artist and has performed with numerous Jazz legends and other notables, many gone but never forgotten. Among the legends are Stanley Turrentine, Gloria Lynne, Lena Horne, Leon Thomas, Grover Washington, Jr., Jimmy Smith, Curtis Mayfield and Jimmy McGriff.
Fellow performers include gospel singers Pam Brooks-Campbell and Gabriel Abdul-Karim; African dance & drum ensemble Bambara Drum Dance Ensemble from the Bronx, NY; New Haven-based African drummer Brian Jarawa Gray.