Get ready to possibly see your aunts or uncles on screen as Hulu is dropping its new documentary today. The documentary about the legendary Atlanta street party will highlight a big time in Atlanta's history, HBCU history and Black history.
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Ever Told isn’t just focused on the party environment and public safety concerns attached to the festival from four decades ago. But it’s also about how the iconic event started as a simple Black college cookout that eventually got the attention of thousands from across America and defined Atlanta as the cultural and music mecca it is today.
Freaknik was created in 1983 when five students from the Atlanta University Center organized a picnic inviting students from all over the country to Piedmont Park.
The event was intended for students who couldn't travel back home for Spring Break.
But over time the word about the kick-back spread until it blew up from a picnic into a week-long party.
“Just word of mouth, passing out flyers. This became 200 thousand, 300 thousand people coming to Atlanta,” Jermaine Dupri said in a interview.
Police and elected officials ended Freaknik after 1999 amid public safety concerns and reports of sexual assault. The documentary premiered on a Tuesday night at SXSW in Austin, Texas and streams on Hulu starting March 21.
“They said it was Freaknik, and I just thought that I wanted to bring the freak into the ’nik and then it went from zero to 100 real fast,” said Luther Campbell, the rapper known as Uncle Luke, who is an executive producer of the film.
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