Juneteenth 2025: Saginaw event to recreate Black Wall Street

SAGINAW, MI — A community organizer said she hopes a new Juneteenth event this year will launch a yearly Saginaw tradition.

Renee Hawkins-Morris, an organizer of previous Juneteenth celebrations in Saginaw, said the latest event will involve providing free space for Black-owned businesses to set up shop from 1-5 p.m. Thursday, June 19, in downtown’s Morley Plaza.

The event is titled, “Recreating Black Wall Street,” which references the Tulsa, Oklahoma commercial district where Black-owned businesses thrived in the early 20th century.

Hawkins-Morris and her Saginaw-based nonprofit, COSBE Inc., will host the Saginaw event, which is free and open to the public.

She said families are welcomed to grill, set up for a picnic, and shop from the vendors participating in the event.

Several food vendors are signed up to participate, she said.

With about three days remaining before “Recreating Black Wall Street,” 15 Black-owned businesses are registered to participate, Hawkins-Morris said.

She expects more vendors to sign up by Thursday, which marks the Juneteenth federal holiday.

The event will feature a live broadcast with Kareen Bowen, the radio host of “Straight Talk with Kareen Bowen” on WTLZ, 107.1 FM.

“This is a way to meet the different businesses and to engage with the ‘Straight Talk’ conversation and to be part of the unapologetically blessed, Black and brilliant movement,” Hawkins-Morris said.

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