Cars packed the bright green manicured lawn outside the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center. Inside, guests bumped elbows at more than 10 tables set up in the main hall of the historic building. They hugged the walls while a preacher’s voice carried throughout the room on the stereos.
Tables were called up, and breakfast was served on styrofoam plates to hungry guests. Though the event was scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., performances and speeches extended the program by an hour, wrapping up around 10 a.m.
Tickets cost $35 and included a full breakfast of sausage, eggs, grits, bacon and fresh fruit, including grapes and watermelon.
The Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center welcomed a full house Thursday morning for its Juneteenth Breakfast and Black Music Month Celebration.
The breakfast marked one of the final events in Gainesville’s month-long “Journey to Juneteenth” celebration, which began May 24 with the Florida Emancipation Celebration at the Cotton Club.
The Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center is a not-for-profit that preserves historic buildings to educate the Gainesville community about the history of African-derived cultures. All of its staff are volunteers, except an intern who receives a stipend.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation
Sponsors included Coca-Cola, Cox Communications, the Alachua County NAACP, North Central Florida Labor Council and the Greater Gainesville Chamber. Elected officials, including Alachua County Sheriff Chad Scott and Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, also attended.
Vivian Filer, the founder and board chair of the Cotton Club and Cultural Center, said the program ran longer than expected due to the number of performers.
“Music is such a fundamental part of who we are,” Filer said. “It brought us through enslavement. Out of enslavement, it’s been the glue that wound around through our lives.”
While the event sold out, the center accommodated additional guests at the door. She said about 150 people attended.
Three acts were performed throughout the morning. The Greater Duval Seniors on the Move kicked off the event with a drum performance alongside their director, Shera Cutris. Saxophonist Cornelius LaVan followed with a performance titled “Jazz and Gospel, Together.”
The final performance came from Caleb and Friends, a six-member band with drums, bass guitar and keyboard. The group played three songs, ending their set with “Shout” by The Isley Brothers.
Caleb Little, the band’s 18-year-old lead singer and a Gainesville native, encouraged the crowd to join in and shout along with the chorus.
“Every time I am involved in music or singing or church or at local events, I try to uplift the spirit of happiness,” Little said.
All musical performances received standing ovations from the crowd.
As guests ate, Rev. Ron Rawls, the pastor of Gainesville’s Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was preaching about the importance of community.
“These days are challenged to make America what it ought to be. We have the opportunity to make America a better nation,” Rawls said. “And I want to thank God once more for allowing me to be with you.”
Alachua County NAACP Chapter President Evelyn Foxx, who also serves on the museum's board, spoke about the significance of the holiday. It marked the “beginning of the end” of enslavement in America, she said, and the fight is ongoing.
“We are free, but today we really aren’t free,” Foxx said. “We’re still striving to get there.”
Her husband, retired veteran George Foxx, cooked the meal.
In a speech, Mayor Harvey Ward commended those who attended this month’s Juneteenth events.
“As we consider what Juneteenth means, and as we consider the things that are pushing against folks these days,” Ward said. “This is something we should learn from. This is something that should be a part of all of us.”
The event also presented the first Sarah McKnight Harmony and Hearth Scholarship to two recipients, named after the woman who owned the Cotton Club in the 1950s. Her daughter, Gloria Jean Swoopes, created the scholarship to help high school seniors and current college students.
The scholarship was presented to Ellisia Cooper, a UF nursing junior, and Aniya Williams, a recent high school graduate who will study biology at the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in the fall for biology.
Proceeds from the event will go toward utility expenses for the museum, according to the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center founder and board member Vivian Filer. She said she hopes Gov. Ron DeSantis will sign the Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network bill, which would allow the center to apply for state funding.
Contact Alanna Robbert at arobbert@alligator.org. Follow her on X @alannafitzr.
Alanna Robbert is a journalism senior and a general assignment reporter for the Metro Desk in Summer 2025. In her free time, she enjoys reading and going to the gym.
