The Juneteenth Story at Acadiana Center for the Arts - Moncus Theatre

The Juneteenth Story is an original play written by Lafayette playwright Twana Benoit and directed by Josiah Price, presented by Black Theatre Experience and the SWLA Juneteenth Committee. Told across two timelines, 1865 and today, the play follows the Williams family as elders hand down the story of how freedom came, connecting the emancipation era to questions of justice and responsibility a Black family still carries now. It is a faith story as much as a history one, full of music, movement, and laughter. The production began in the early 1990s as When We Gon Be Free and has grown into an annual community gathering drawing more than 500 guests each year, with a pre-show by Fire Expressions Performing Arts Conservatory.