25th MOCO Juneteenth Celebration Planned At The BlackRock Center

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County will honor Juneteenth with its 25th celebration at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.

The celebration will include Trail of Knowledge educational passport activities, a historical journey of African American Music and artistic entertainment, and food trucks. There will also be an award ceremony.

“Juneteenth is a chance to gather with our community, celebrate our diversity, and remember our history," said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich in a news release. "We reaffirm that we are stronger as a County because of our diversity. This year’s Juneteenth activities are designed to engage and educate, as well as entertain, because this holiday is a reminder that we can’t take freedom for granted. We look to the future with great hope and with a renewed commitment to pursuing justice. I urge our residents, and visitors, to join us for this year’s Juneteenth celebration and spend time learning more about this important national holiday.”

The festivities are scheduled for June 18 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. This will be the first year that Juneteenth is recognized as both a national holiday and a paid county holiday, the news release says.

“The end of slavery not only meant freedom for a people, it meant freedom for a nation, however, nothing is guaranteed; as we see efforts at voter suppression nationwide, confrontation with law enforcement and excessive force issues for black and brown people, social justice crisis and an attempted insurrection and end of our democracy,” said Office of Human Rights Director James Stowe in a news release. “This is a must attend program for every freedom-loving member of our community. As we still have COVID-19 concerns, we will be observing all County required safety measures that may be in place at that time. So come on out and bring your entire family for a full day of education, fun, good food, music, art, and entertainment.”