Freaknik is an annual spring break festival in Atlanta, Georgia. It is primarily attended by students from historically black colleges and universities. Begun in 1983 as a small picnic near the Atlanta University Center, it was initially sponsored by the DC Metro Club. To coincide with Reading Day of the center's schools, it is typically held during the third weekend in April. The event increased in size and popularity in the 1990s, incorporating dance contests, concerts, parties, a basketball tournament, rap sessions, a film festival and a job fair. The Atlanta magazine called it Atlanta's most infamous street party. In 1999, actions by the police and elected officials caused celebration of Freaknik to cease. A revamped version of Freaknik returned in 2019, it is set to move forward as a three-day event centered around artists performing. The name of the event came from joining "freaky" and "picnic." In the early 1990s, some who were unfamiliar with the event's name pronounced Friknic like "Freaknic," and the altered pronunciation quickly spread.
History
Freaknik was conceived in March 1982 on Spelman College by club president Skyla Goodson. It was originally sponsored by the DC Metro Club, which was composed of students from Washington, DC; Maryland and Virginia. The DC Metro Club intended for it to be challenge to the California Club for the largest end-of-the-school-year party. Goodson invented the name Freaknik as a portmanteau of freaky and picnic. First held in John A. White Park in April 1982, it was attended by at most 150 students, featuring a potluck and dancing. Two DJs were present: Nab and Daryl Baptiste Miller, who both were students at Morehouse College. In 1988, Spelman College President Johnnetta B. Cole banned the DC Metro Club from involvement with Freaknic. Thus, no chartered student organization preside over the event, Daryl Baptiste Miller was asked by the DC metro club to promote the event. Several night club owners, unauthorized, began spelling Freaknic with a "k" instead of the original "c". The event then changed from a wholesome HBCU family reunion to a raunchy event. Around this time, people unfamiliar with the event began to spell Freaknic as "Freaknik". Ronn Greene and Diya Nabawi, intentionally changing the spelling of the name, registered Freaknik with the government of Georgia in 1993. Ed Ruckers, a night club owner, and Vanis, a woman from Washington, DC, started promoting the event with the altered spelling to avoid trademark infringement. Freaknik gradually began to incorporate nudity and wild partying. Atlanta University Center students promoted Freaknik as a provocative event. Traffic became heavier during Freaknic as the event grew. There were reports of violence, looting and sexual assault. Less than 1% of major crimes committed during Freaknik were committed by college students. The event became open to the general public, and people from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe came to participate in it. In 1990, it was attended by 300,000, many of whom did not plan to attend Freaknic, compared to the previous year's 80,000. In 1991, up to 350,000 people attended it. As Freaknik grew, the attitudes toward it of local homeowners and business owners became negative. It was challenged by Atlanta businesses, neighborhood associations, business owners and community leaders. Under pressure, Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell cracked down on Freaknik in 1996. Large numbers of Atlanta police made it difficult to party in Freaknik or commit crimes. Roadblocks were placed at freeway exits that led to Atlanta. After city leaders took these measures to curtail Freaknic's accessibility, its popularity faded. The event moved east from Atlanta to Memorial Drive in DeKalb County, Georgia. By 1999, the celebration of the festival in DeKalb County died down due to heightened police security. In April 2010, Atlanta officials said: "there are no permitted Freaknic-related events inside the city limits." Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed also said that "he will be tough and even sue organizers of any Freaknic-related activities who violate city guidelines." After a 20-year hiatus, the last official Freaknik being in 1999, Atlanta-based promotion company After 9 Partners and Carlos Neal contracted Luther Campbell, Juvenille, Trina and others to spearheaded the return of a revamped Freaknik in June 2019. The Summer 2019 Freaknik featured hip-hop and R&B music artists performing at the Cellairis Amphitheatre. Other activities were available throughout Atlanta, such as a community service event. Many of the 20,000+ attendees were adults who participated in the official Freakniks of the 80s and 90s.
In culture
produced a one-hour special spoof titled based on the popular festival. The show aired on television networkAdult Swim on March 7, 2010. A season one episode of True Life followed college students during 1998's Freaknik. A season six episode of Sister, Sister chronicled Tia and Tamera's trip from Michigan to Atlanta toward Freaknik with their college friends. In his mixtape "STN MTN / Kauai," Childish Gambino opens by saying that he had a dream that he ran Atlanta, and among other things, he would bring back Freaknik. On "Hair Day", the eleventh episode of season six of the ABC series Black-ish, Dre reveals to his son Jack that as a younger man he was beaten in a dance-off by a someone who brought his own whistle to the party, which raised the ire of his oldest son, Junior, who insisted Dre had told him "What happens at Freaknik stays at Freaknik."
