UAPB’s Black and Gold wellness dancers get boots on the ground for Juneteenth – KATV

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by Kylon Williams | Isley Gooden
Juneteenth celebrations are getting a little extra footwork this year at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where organizers are inviting the community to lace up their dancing shoes and help make HBCU history. (PHOTO: KATV)
PINE BLUFF, Ark. (KATV) — Juneteenth celebrations are getting a little extra footwork this year at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where organizers are inviting the community to lace up their dancing shoes and help make HBCU history.
Cynthia Hunter, who leads a wellness group dance class at UAPB, said the Black and Gold Fitting Bowl Wellness Program includes dancers from “the faculty, the staff, the students, and some of the community.”
The group is also behind a Juneteenth-night event aimed at drawing a big crowd: the HBCU Line Dancing Cha Cha Challenge. Hunter said the goal is “to set the record of the largest line dancing electric slide in HBCU.”
The event is scheduled to start at 7:30, but Hunter encouraged people to arrive earlier. “Be here by 7 o’clock,” she said.
Hunter said it was important for UAPB to be part of the Juneteenth celebration because the university is closely tied to the area. “Because the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff is a part of this community, and we are HBCU, we’re historical black college and university, so we fell for Juneteenth,” she said. “Yes, we should definitely be a part of this.”
For anyone who wants to keep dancing beyond the Juneteenth event, Hunter said the wellness program offers line dancing, Zumba and Afro vibes for faculty, staff, students and the public. She said people can call UAPB Human Resource for the schedule and cost details, adding, “Actually, it’s just $5 for the community, the faculty, staff, students, and retirees get the class free.”
As for the Juneteenth challenge, the instructions are simple: show up ready to move. “You need to be here by 7 o’clock because we’re going, we’re starting at 7:30,” Hunter said.
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