Freaknik (/ˈfriːknɪk/; originally Freaknic) was an annual spring break festival in Atlanta, Georgia. It was initially attended by students enrolled at historically black colleges and universities in the Atlanta University Center.[1] It began in 1983 as a small picnic in a public park near the Atlanta University Center sponsored by the D.C. Metro Club for students who could not afford to return home for spring break.[1] It continued as an annual event held during the third weekend in April. The event drastically 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.[2]
The Atlanta magazine called it Atlanta's most infamous street party.[3] As the event grew to over 250,000 people, the problems worsened. By 1999, Atlanta area police and elected officials worked together to end Freaknik. A revamped version returned for one day on June 22, 2019, as "FreakNik Atlanta '19 - The Festival" with a concert at Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood.[4]
Originally "Freaknic", the name of the event is a portmanteau of "picnic" and "freak", in accordance with the D.C. Metro Club's 1982–1983 theme "The Return of the Freak".[5]
History
Freaknik was conceived in March 1982 on Spelman College campus in a DC Metro Club meeting headed by then president Schuyla Goodson.[6] It was sponsored by the club, which was composed of students from Washington, D.C., 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 suggested the name Freaknik (then spelled "Freaknic") as a portmanteau of freaky and picnic.
The name Freaknik was inspired by Le Freak by Chic, a popular song and dance from 1978. First held in John A. White Park in Atlanta in April 1982, it was attended by at most 150 students.
Commercialization
In 1988, Spelman College President Johnnetta B. Cole banned the DC Metro Club from involvement with Freaknic for school liability reasons. With no chartered collegiate student organization presiding over the event, independent national promoter Daryl Miller was asked by the DC Metro Club to promote it. He grew the event from 15,000 to over 250,000 in five years with no radio nor television ads.
Several other promoters began promoting non-official Freakni(k) named events. One such event happened at the then 33-acre Lakewood Fairgrounds and had 60,000 people in attendance. In 1993, two non-HBCU students, party promoters Ronn Greene and Diya Nabawi, were the first to trademark the name, spelled officially as "Freaknik" (ending with a "k"). Another was held at Club XS off Moreland Ave. This event was promoted by a group of Omega Psi Phi fraternity members. It had an estimated 30,000 people in the parking lot and another 60,000 that cruised the Moreland all night.
In 1991, Kristina Copeland, a woman from Washington, D.C., and Ronn Greene, produced the second event, held at the Lakewood Fairgrounds. They invited the provocative and controversial artist Luke Campbell from 2 Live Crew fame, and the nature of the event took a major undignified turn. Behaviors such as public nudity, public sexual acts, and sexual violence towards women became more common. Atlanta University Center students tried to promote Freaknic as a non-provocative event, in an attempt to distinguish it as the more wholesome event it started as. Traffic became unmanageable during Freaknik as the event became popular to non-HBCU and non-college individuals in general. In addition, reports of violence, looting, driving under the influence, car accidents, public drug use, public drunkenness, sexual assault, and rape significantly increased when the event was active in the 1990s.[7][8][9][10][11]
As the event became more popular to the general public, Black people from all regions of the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe came to participate in it. At its peak in the 1990s, the event attracted well over 250,000 people each year.[12] Also the event was a major economic stimulus for the Atlanta area. It is estimated by 1994 the economic impact reached $20 million.[13]
As Freaknik grew, local homeowners' and business owners' attitudes toward it 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 April 1997. A much larger police presence created tension and discomfort among the almost entirely black festival goers.[7] 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.
The Associated Press reported on May 13, 1998 that the Atlanta Committee for Black College Spring Break should no longer welcome Freaknik. "We cannot support events that bring lewd activities, sexual assaults, violence against women and public safety concerns—firetrucks not being able to reach victims, and ambulances not being able to reach hospitals in a timely manner," said committee chairman George Hawthorne.
By 1999, despite moving to DeKalb County to avoid Atlanta police, attendance declined again due to heightened police security from DeKalb County which led to the official end.[14] There were attempts after 1999 to officially revive Freaknik but they all failed.[15] 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."[16]
After 20 years, the last official Freaknik being in 1999, Atlanta-based promotion company After 9 Partners and Carlos Neal contracted Luther Campbell, Juvenile, Trina and others to spearhead a Freaknik themed concert in June 2019. The 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 estimated 20,000 attendees were older adults who participated in the official Freakniks of the 80s and 90s.[17][18][19][20]
A season two episode of Popular features the character Mary Cherry saying "I went to Freaknik in hotlanta and turned the mother out" when grilled on her spring break activities.[22]
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.[23]
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.[24]
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."
Tom Wolfe referenced Freaknik/Freaknic in his book "A Man in Full" - initially around page 17, chapter "Chocolate Mecca" but other places as well. [25]
Freaknik is referenced in rap songs from the 1990s and early 2000s.[26][27]
Beyoncé references Freaknik 1996 in her song “THIQUE,” which was released on Renaissance in 2022.
Hulu released a documentary called Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told. in March 2024.[28]
^ abSuggs, Ernie (April 14, 2008). "Street party became its own undoing". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008. It was a heck of a run. From 1983 until 1999, Freaknic — the college picnic that morphed into a sprawling street party — tormented, titillated and drove Atlanta to the brink but Chrissy said it came back for a while until 2010.
^"Black students converge on Atlanta for Freaknic". CNN. April 18, 1997. Among the other activities planned are a party at a downtown club hosted by Michael Bivins of the hip-hop group "New Edition," a basketball tournament, rap sessions, a film festival and a daylong job fair.
