Hulu just lately announced a documentary about the rise and fall of the Atlanta-based block party Freaknik. When and why did it end? Find out!
For several years, Freaknik reigned as the greatest and Blackest spring break party in the nation. Before lengthy, information of the block party unfold across the nation. By the early to mid '90s, folks from all over flocked to Atlanta with hopes of having in on the motion.
In early 2023, Hulu introduced that a documentary about Freaknik was once in the works (according to IMDb), and the news sent the web right into a tizzy.
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While our mothers, aunties, and faculty lecturers can have given their lives over to the Lord since then, there’s still an opportunity you may see a couple of of those baddies backing that thang up in the throwback documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told.
But if Freaknik used to be such a large deal, when and why did it end? Here’s what you wish to have to know.
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When and why did Freaknik end? Read on for a breakdown of the timeline!
The very first Freaknik used to be organized through scholars at the Atlanta University Center — made up of Spelman, Morehouse, Morris Brown, and Clark Atlanta University.
The amassing used to be held at John A. White Park in Atlanta and had just a few DJs, home made food, and about 150 attendees. In the following years, the number greater to upwards of 350,000 attendees.
As Freaknik grew, so did considerations for public protection. The huge party changed into unattainable to police and crime ran rampant. “Where the problem came all the way through Freaknik is how do you keep an eye on this unorganized chaos,” Morehouse alum and former Atlanta City Councilman Derrick Boazman stated in Complex’s Oral History of Freaknik.
Before long, Freaknik went from an NSFW college party to a free-for-all for weirdos.
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Freaknik organizers faced complaint from the neighborhood and eventually, govt officials. In 1997, former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who was later indicted on unrelated charges, took motion.
Along with prohibiting all Freaknik occasions from going down inside of Atlanta town limits, there used to be also an higher police presence on the grounds where the block party was held.
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“The ultimate reminiscence I have, I assume it was like 1997, 1998, it went from being Freaknik, to the Sweet Auburn Festival in a managed area. It wasn’t just about as many people as used to come back,” former Freaknik attendee Panama Jackson shared in the profile.
“That was the city being extra proactive in looking to keep an eye on it from the beginning versus, here’s this weekend where a lot of these other folks act a rattling fool and are going all over the town," he added.
By 1999, Freaknik had misplaced its flair. Although Atlanta organizers tried to revamp the motion in 2019, the rebooted party couldn’t examine to the unique. Since then, HBCUs like TSU have recreated Freaknik, paying homage to the iconic event that took over the '90s.
In the end, we’ll by no means get to relive the second in time that used to be Freaknik 1994. But hello, no less than there’s nonetheless footage of your Aunt Pearl twerking on a handstand.
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