Beginning in the late 80s and lasting throughout the 90s, Freaknik was an annual celebration created by students at Atlanta’s historically black colleges and universities. The days-long festivities — centered around Black expression — quickly became a cultural phenomenon.
The now legendary Atlanta festival is the main focus behind the upcoming Hulu documentary, “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” which premieres on the streaming service on Thursday, March 21, and is executive produced by Atlanta residents, music producer Jermaine Dupri and rapper 21 Savage.
Despite it being nearly 25 years since the last official Freaknik celebration in 1999, those who experienced the event in its hey day still have fond memories of the festivities as if it had occurred yesterday.
Tarangela Jones, a resident of Atlanta’s Hunter Hills community, was in her early 20s when she first attended the festival.
“It was parties everywhere … you had cars just cut off the whole street,” said Jones. “Everybody bumping their music in their cars, all the girls in their booty shorts!”
Tarangela Jones, sits outside her Hunter Hills Home in Atlanta. (Julien Virgin/WABE)
At its height, over 250,000 Black partygoers from across the country took over Atlanta’s streets. Despite the crowdedness of the event, Jones remembers everyone in attendance just wanting to have fun.
And in the age of the golden era of hip-hop and bass music in Atlanta, it was not a difficult feat to find a popular club or dance spot to frequent throughout the festival.
Cedric Middlebrooks, a 54-year-old “Grady baby”, was a young high school graduate when he first attended Freaknik in it’s heyday.
Cedrick Middlebrooks, a chef at the Hot Dog Factory in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia State Campus, reminisces about his Freaknik…
Read the full article here
