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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Cook: Juneteenth, the little black box and a festival for the entire city

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The ceremony took place on the south side of Walnut Street Bridge next to the future site of the Ed Johnson Memorial.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The ceremony took place on the south side of Walnut Street Bridge next to the future site of the Ed Johnson Memorial. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / The ceremony took place on the south side of Walnut Street Bridge next to the future site of the Ed Johnson Memorial.

Some years ago, Ric Morris was driving downtown. Morris is a dark-skinned Black man. He was driving a Mercedes. Used, not new.

Police pulled him over. Morris remembers the officer asking two questions.

The first question: “Do you have narcotics in the car?”

“No,” Morris said. “I work at Hixson High School.”

The second question: “Are you the janitor?”