Music from the songbook of Crawfordsville-born jazz brothers Sidney and Wilbur de Paris will kick off the second annual Crawfordsville’s Juneteenth Celebration.
A trio of the duo’s compositions are featured in a free performance by Crawfordsville High School’s Jazz Band at 7 p.m. June 20 at Lewis S. Salter Concert Hall in the Wabash College Fine Arts Center, 504 S. Grant Ave. Free-will donations will be accepted for the high school’s music program.
The concert is part of two days of activities to mark the federal holiday commemorating the official end of slavery in the United States and raise awareness of local Black history, in hopes of continuing a conversation about an often undertold part of the city’s past.
Getting their start in family minstrel shows staged at a downtown Crawfordsville fraternal hall, the de Paris brothers went on to perform with Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and other jazz stars and formed their own orchestra, helping revive the New Orleans jazz scene in the mid-20th century.
Activities continue June 21 with the Soul Stroll, a self-guided driving tour of local Black history sites. The route winds through the city’s two historically Black north and east side communities and the downtown area, with stops at more than 20 places.
Maps and scripts are available at the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, 222 S. Washington St. An audio version of the tour narrated by students from Wabash’s Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies can be found on the event’s website by searching “Crawfordsville’s Juneteenth Celebration.”
Bethel AME Church of Crawfordsville, 213 W. North St., will host a gospel sing at 4 p.m., accompanied by Alan White on the congregation’s antique pump organ. Free-will donations will be collected for the church.
A free picnic meal catered by The Creekside Lodge will follow.
The event was funded through a grant from Wabash’s Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust program.
