On June 19, six leading Black museums and historical institutions from coast to coast join forces to commemorate Juneteenth, the day that the Emancipation Proclamation was officially enforced, ending enslavement in Texas. Watch the livestream here at 12pm:
This timely event features cultural performances from Africa and across America, educational content and appearances by:
- Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first African American and first historian to serve as the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, anthropologist, educator, museum director and the first female African American president of Spelman College
- The Honorable Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library
The launch of BLKFREEDOM.org will commemorate the 155th Anniversary of Juneteenth, which dates back to June 19, 1865, when union soldier, Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with the news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. This announcement was more than two and half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
BLKFREEDOM.org is a combined effort between Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (Detroit, MI), Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park (Hilton Head Island, SC), Northwest African American Museum (Seattle, WA), Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater (Miami, FL), National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH), and the National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis, TN).
Through educational content, artistic performances and shareable discussion prompts, this collaborative program will explore the meaning and relevance of “freedom”, “justice” and “democracy” in Black American life, from a historical and contemporary framework. To learn more and subscribe for updates, visit blkfreedom.org.