Executive Committee

Princess Johnson

Princess Johnson is an international dancer, choreographer, entrepreneur, and motivator.  She established a dance production company and school, Royal Expressions Contemporary Ballet in 2009 where she has created six original dance productions, has taught hundreds of students, and even led a team to bring world renowned ballerina, Misty Copeland to Greensboro, NC in 2014.  She is a visionary and truly believes in the power of never losing your momentum. 

Lavinia Jackson

Lavinia Jackson, aka, “Momma Love”, is a multi-award winning author and poet. She has been involved with Greensboro’s Juneteenth celebrations, almost since inception, lending whatever support was needed. This year, as a member of the Executive Committee, she partnered with the Carolina Theater, which is a first for both. Her event, Thursday night, highlights the Black Women in the Arts.

April Parker

April Parker is a cultural organizer and community leader in Guilford County, NC.  April is a black queer femme, a revolutionary mama and a twin. She holds a B. A. in sociology from Kean University and an M.L.I.S. in Library Science from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.  April has been on the forefront and front lines of the social justice movement in Greensboro.

As a surveyor of landscapes both socioeconomic and political April worked with the city of Greensboro Councilwoman Sharon Hightower to make Juneteenth an official holiday in our city both co authored the resolution and spoke at city council, where it was unanimously voted and passed in May 2020.  Subsequently April Parker founded the annual tradition of the Juneteenth Black Food Truck Festival. She has been cultivating Juneteenth events since 2014.

April Parker is the founder of the consulting and curating business Architect of Black Space. ABOS focuses on organizing and building Black Spaces, with a specific emphasis on racial equity and community development. They offer various services such as project management, racial equity consulting, public scholarship and research, cultural organizing, program development and community liaison work.

Nicole J. Walker

Nicole J Walker, Community Member and Organizing & Productivity Consultant, is the Administrative & Facilities Manager of Royal Expressions Contemporary Ballet. 

As the mother of four artists, Nicole is a supporter and advocate of the arts & community. She always finds ways to make sure the arts are incorporated in her children’s lives while learning and teaching them to be proud and unapologetic of their Blackness.  

Along the way, Nicole learned about Juneteenth. In 2019, she consulted with the planning, designing and implementation of a Juneteenth event with the goal of increasing awareness and setting the foundation for an annual celebration.  

Nicole is elated to be among a group of people to fulfill the vision. She proudly serves as the Event Manager & Designer for the Arts Legacy Awards and the Creator & Event Chair for Juneteenth Gospel Superfest: Interfaith Celebration. 

Welcome to the Annual Juneteenth Celebration! 

Joseph A. Wilkerson III

Joseph Wilkerson III moved to Greensboro NC after graduating high school in Fayetteville to attend NC A&T State University in 1988 to study Architectural Engineering. While in college, he started working at UPS in 1990 and is currently still employed there. An artist, entrepreneur, and visionary… it wasn’t until after he began transitioning out of college that he realized he should have been in college to not just get a job, but to create jobs.

Between 1995 to present day, Joseph has launched several business ventures that included an urban-themed film festival, a magazine, an iPhone app, and a working artist studio. It was in 2006 when he became intrigued about the idea of revitalizing and rebranding the “Black side” of Greensboro as Uptown, and in 2018, Wilkerson launch Uptown GSO, Inc as a community development nonprofit.