2026 Annual LexRockBV Juneteenth Celebration
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Join us on Friday, June 19, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at 304 Diamond Street, Lexington, VA 24450, for the 2026 Annual LexRockBV Juneteenth Celebration.
This community celebration honors freedom, culture, and community, hosted in partnership with Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County. The evening will feature live entertainment and a classic car show, local food vendors, community resource tables, vendor booths, a bounce house, and activities for the whole family.
We look forward to seeing you there. Come celebrate with us!
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Thank you for joining us for our 10th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Parade!
ExploreNEWS COVERAGE OF THE PARADE
URGENT: The MLK Parade Is In Danger of Being Cancelled
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The CARE Rockbridge Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Parade is in danger of being cancelled by a proposed city policy. The proposed policy would require CARE to pay for the policing provided to defend marchers from potential violence. The parade originated as a response to KKK blanketing of local lawns with promotional information twice in 2016. Because white supremacy lurks as threat, police presence is needed.
Costs are too high for CARE to pay, and the proposed fees would result in the canceling of the parade.
But, more importantly, CARE assembles in the streets once every year in order to speak up for racial justice and the equality of all. By assembling and speaking publicly, we avail ourselves of fundamental rights guaranteed in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Yes, there are policing costs in defending an annual public assembly in which we raise voices in support of a just, equal political community. But the defense of the basic constitutional rights of the citizens of this community is the very reason that we citizens have forces of law and order. The police exist to protect our political rights.
Should Council take the position that a peaceful assembly calls for further movement toward justice and equality can only happen if private organizations pay for the privilege of police protection, the City will be moving us backward to the era in which leaders like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched without permits and through violent attacks to defend the constitutional claims of racial equality and the equal rights of all to assemble and speak.
The city manager’s proposed policies advance the idea that political expression is just one menu item in the “mix of events” that Lexington has. This is to get things completely backwards. Lexington, itself, is an expression of citizens’ political opinions. The citizens’ political assembly and speech are fundamental to our common endeavor as a community in a constitutional republic. The city government and its forces of law and order are obliged to protect that constitutional pursuit.
Please attend the Lexington City Council Meeting on Thursday, August 20, 7:00 PM at the Rockbridge County Administrative Offices, 150 South Main Street, Lexington. You may ask to speak in the citizens comment period, or you may simply be present to support those who will speak.
Read the proposed policy changes here
Catch up with CARE:
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We will gather on Saturday, April 4th, at Richardson’s Park in Lexington to honor a significant day: the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The event will feature musical performances, notably by the local band, The Norms, CARE representatives, and community guests, beginning at 4:00 PM. Please plan to arrive ready to receive a free MLK sticker, participate in a thoughtful written reflection, set up your seat to enjoy the band, and engage with the community. The program is expected to conclude around 6:01 PM.
We look forward to seeing you all there to spread MLK’s love and carry on his dream!
We invite you and your children to join us on the second Saturday of each month at the local library! These events will include diverse children’s books to read/read aloud, family-friendly games, and snacks!
Check out our new podcast, CARE’s Voices for Change!
Listen in to the first episode of CARE Rockbridge’s Voices for Change. To celebrate Black History Month, host Abby Kim interviews Washington and Lee University Professor Michael Hill, director of the DeLaney Center. Learn about the center and its efforts to raise awareness about Southern race relations, and how it utilizes its place in a traditionally Southern institution to do so.
Catch Up with Rockbridge Area Rallies:
Show you CARE in the streets!
Come join us, Hearts for Democracy, and the Rockbridge County area in rallying every Friday from 4:00-5:30 at the corner of Nelson St. & S. Jefferson St. in downtown Lexington .
Hearts For Democracy
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