Arlington To Observe Juneteenth At Town Hall

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington will hold a Juneteenth observance at Town Hall Saturday, June 19.

The holiday, a portmanteau of June 19, is being recognized across the nation for the first time this year. President Joe Biden made it a federal holiday Thursday after a bill passed the U.S. House and Senate this week.

Juneteenth was already a state holiday in Massachusetts following a House bill signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in July 2020, which requires communities to add it as a paid holiday for its municipal employees.

Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black communities for more than 100 years. The holiday dates back to June 1865, when Union soldiers reached Texas, freeing the last remaining slaves held by the Confederacy — a full two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Join Arlington’s Human Rights Commission, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion director, state and local officials and community members to celebrate Juneteenth. The ceremony will include recitations of Langston Hughes’s poem As I Grew Older and Tracy Smith’s We Feel A Largeness Coming On, in addition to a musical performance.

The event will begin at Town Hall Plaza, 730 Mass. Ave., at 9:30 a.m.

Speakers include:

• Senator Cindy Friedman, (D) Fourth Middlesex
• Representative, Dave Rogers (D) 24 th Middlesex
• Mikel Satcher, MLK Observance Committee, Former Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church
• Naoka Carey, Arlington Human Rights Commissioner
• Jillian Harvey, Arlington Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion