FreakNik producers celebrating anniversary of festival with march and rally on Father’s Day

Atlanta's Pastor Troy - shown at a Super Bowl event in 2019 - will join the FreakNik anniversary march and rally.

Credit: Ryon Horne, rhorne@ajc.com

Credit: Ryon Horne, rhorne@ajc.com

Atlanta's Pastor Troy - shown at a Super Bowl event in 2019 - will join the FreakNik anniversary march and rally.

The producers of the FreakNik festival are marking the one-year anniversary of the event's return with a Father's Day/Junteenth march and rally.

After 9 Partners, led by Carlos Neal, have teamed with South Fulton City Councilman Khalid Kamau, Pastor Troy, Yung Joc, Greg Street and Old National Entertainment for the event, which will take place at 5 p.m. June 21.

The rally will begin at 7490 Old National Highway with a march of 4 miles to Yung Joc’s Club South Beach. At 7 p.m., family members who have lost loved ones to police violence will discuss legislative issues, including police reform and voting rights, with city and state leaders.

Neal said he arranged the “peaceful protest march against injustice” in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks and is “calling on black men to get more involved in the civic life of their community.”

The title of the June 21 gathering is Black Fathers are D.O.P.E. (Dad's Overcoming Pressure Everywhere). Volunteers can sign up at www.freaknikfest.com/bfad and by texting "BLACK" to 33777.

This year's FreakNik fest is still scheduled to take place Sept. 18-20 at Morris Brown College.

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