Event Organizer For a South Carolina Juneteenth Celebration Goes Viral for Controversial Marketing Banner

Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black communities in America.

The organizer of a Greenville, South Carolina Juneteenth event is being criticized after a photo of one of the event’s marketing banners depicting a white couple went viral.

Rueben Hays, who is Black and the founder of Juneteenth GVL Mega Fest, says of the banners created for his event, “We did not want to make this exclusively Black,” Hays continued, “That is not in the spirit of unity.”

Hays has since issued an apology for the marketing materials, which can be read on the event’s IG page, @juneteenthgvl.