Join us to commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth with an evening of poetry and music. This program is brought to you in partnership with the N.C. African American Heritage Commission and is free and open to the public. Registration is required for this seated performance including:
· Nnenna Freelon with Pierce Freelon
· Shana Tucker
· Freddy Greene “Street Genie”
· The Martin Luther King, Jr. All-Children’s Choir
· Destiny Hemphill
· Fred Joiner
Juneteenth, a National Day of Observance, is recognized on June 19 and commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States as of that date in 1865. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, when enslaved people were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation. Although the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, 1862, the final Emancipation Proclamation was not issued until January 1, 1863. This is the date when the proclamation went into effect.
The day was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. It was written into law as a nationally recognized event in 2023. In that same year, Governor Roy Cooper declared June 19 Juneteenth Day in North Carolina saying, “Juneteenth is a day to celebrate Black heritage, history and freedom. It's also an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made while understanding that we must tackle the longstanding inequities and racism that still exist."
We hope you will join us to learn, celebrate, and amplify the story of this significant moment in our nation’s history.
This special performance is sponsored by Come Hear NC, the African American Heritage Commission, and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.