JUNETEENTH: Celebrations coast-to-coast

Juneteenth — a combination of the words June and 19th — is a celebration of the date in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas, learned they’d been emancipated a full year before. And while the holiday’s roots lie in the Lone Star State, observances tend to focus on the end of slavery overall. In the second year since Congress voted to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, Americans are celebrating throughout the country, from Brooklyn, New York, to Fargo, North Dakota. Here’s a sampling of what’s happening for Juneteenth:

Graphic credit: Amber Hudson
Graphic credit: Amber Hudson

NORTH

Buffalo, New York. Juneteenth Festival.

Burlington, Vermont. Juneteenth: A Love Story.

Chicago, Illinois. Thank You Chicago Juneteenth Market.

Cleveland, Ohio. Juneteenth Celebration: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Fargo, North Dakota. Juneteenth Freedom Celebration.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Juneteenth Jubilee Parade.

Minneapolis, Minnesota. Juneteenth Jubilee: A Black Burlesque Show.

Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Documentary screening, “Jubilee, Juneteenth and the Thirteenth.”

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Juneteenth Homecoming.

Seattle, Washington. Sixth Annual Juneteenth Celebration.

SOUTH

Atlanta, Georgia. Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Freedom Celebration.

Charleston, South Carolina. Gullah Juneteenth Freedom Celebration.

Charlotte, North Carolina. Juneteenth Celebration: Elements of Freedom.

Dallas, Texas. City Men Cook Father’s Day/Juneteenth Celebration.

Galveston, Texas (birthplace of Juneteenth). Forty-third Annual Juneteenth Proclamation Reading.

Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, is one of the places historians say General Order No. 3, which informed enslaved people of their freedom, was announced. Photo credit: Texas A & M University.
Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, is one of the places historians say General Order No. 3, which informed enslaved people of their freedom, was announced. Photo credit: Texas A & M University.

Miami Gardens, Florida. Juneteenth Park-In and Party: We Are One.

Nashville, Tennessee. Black on Buchanan Juneteenth Festival with The Equity Alliance.

New Orleans, Louisiana. NOLA Juneteenth Festival, Congo Square.

Roswell, Georgia. Aaron Nigel Smith Trio Performs for Juneteenth.

Tulsa, Oklahoma. Juneteenth Festival.

Virginia Beach, Virginia. Juneteenth at the Beach.

Washington, D.C. Juneteenth Freedom Day Music Festival.

Washington, D.C. Black Lives Matter Block Party.

Juneteenth celebration in Washington, D.C., June, 2020. Photo credit: Carol Highsmith
Juneteenth celebration in Washington, D.C., June, 2020. Photo credit: Carol Highsmith

EAST

Baltimore, Maryland. Juneteenth SoulStock Celebration.

Boston, Massachusetts. King Boston’s Nubian Square Juneteenth Celebration.

Brooklyn, New York. Juneteenth Food Festival: Weeksville Heritage Center.

Hartford Connecticut. Second Annual Juneteenth Celebration.

New York, New York. Celebrate Juneteenth in Seneca Village.

New York, New York. Juneteenth Celebration: Carnegie Hall.

New York, New York. Free Apollo Theater screening of “The Big Payback,” documentary about one community’s relationship with the reparations debate.

Newark, New Jersey. Men’s Day Transparency/Juneteenth.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Juneteenth Family Pride Picnic.

Graphic credit: Amber Hudson

WEST

Oakland, California. FamBam and Pan African Wellness: Oakland, California’s Juneteenth Festivals.

Las Cruces, New Mexico. Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival.

Las Vegas, Nevada. Juneteenth Emancipation Celebration.

Los Angeles, California. Juneteenth Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl.

Los Angeles, California. Juneteenth in L.A. Parade.

Phoenix, Arizona. Juneteenth Freedom Festival at Bizzle’s on Central.

Portland, Oregon. Juneteenth Oregon Celebration, 50th Anniversary.

Sacramento, California. California State Capitol Juneteenth Celebration.

San Diego, California. Juneteenth 2022: Healing the Community Festival.

CENTRAL

Denver, Colorado. Juneteenth Music Festival, Five Points.

Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa Juneteenth Observance: “The Wisdom Among Us.”

Indianapolis, Indiana. Juneteenth Community Celebration.

Kansas City, Missouri. Juneteenth 2022 Heritage Festival: United We Stand.

Omaha, Nebraska. Opera Omaha’s Amplifying the Black Experience Juneteenth Celebration.

St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Juneteenth “FREE DOME” Celebration.

Wichita, Kansas. Dunbar Under the Stars: “Space Jam” and Juneteenth Street Party.

NATIONAL/VIRTUAL

“Omitted: The Black Cowboy,” ESPN special, 2 p.m. ET, Sunday.

From "Omitted: The Black Cowboy." Photo credit: ESPN
From “Omitted: The Black Cowboy.” Photo credit: ESPN

Release of composer Carlos Simon’s debut album, “Requiem for the Enslaved,” commissioned by Georgetown University to honor 272 enslaved people sold in 1838 by the Jesuits who founded the school to save Georgetown from bankruptcy.

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