Brookline To Host First 'Juneteenth' Celebration

BROOKLINE, MA — Saturday, June 19 will be "Juneteenth Day." The day, which is a portmanteau of June 19 has been set aside to celebrate the end of slavery in America stretching back to its founding in 1865.

This year, a group of community leaders from Brookline is partnering with the Brookline Community Foundation and the Town to sponsor Brookline’s first annual Juneteenth celebration.

The celebration will include a mile-and-a-half long Freedom March at 10 a.m. from the Florida Ruffin Ridley School to the Brookline Avenue Park, where at 11 a.m. there will be music, dancing, kids games, and food until 8 p.m., according to organizers.

So far, more than 150 people have indicated they're interested in attending, according to the Facebook invitation.

The holiday has taken on a new meaning with racial justice rallies, marches and protests sparked by the deaths of Black people at the hands of police across the country.

Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 that Union troops rode into Galveston, Texas, and announced that the Civil War had ended and President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

There are celebrations in Massachusetts — including at the Boston African American National Historical Site —this year, with many mixing in themes from recent demonstrations.

In 2019 the US Senate passed a resolution recognizing "Juneteenth Independence Day" as a national holiday. Then in July 2020 Gov. Charlie Baker signed a house bill officially recognizing Juneteenth as an annual state holiday, requiring the city to add Juneteenth as a paid holiday for its employees.

The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, an organization based in Mississippi has been pushing for this for years.

Texas began made it a state holiday in 1980. A number of other states followed suit, either observing the day in some fashion or making it an official holiday.

Twitter, Nike, the National Football League, Vox and other major businesses all recognized Juneteenth as a paid company holiday last year.

A full roundup of Juneteenth commemorations in the state is available here, including One Night in Boston, with music, film and other festivities in Roxbury’s Nubian Square; Reflecting Attucks, a temporary exhibit on the life and legacy of Crispus Attucks; the MFA Juneteenth Community Celebration; and civic landmarks along the Black Heritage Trail.

Brookline's first Juneteenth celebration is free, but organizers are accepting donations to help pay vendors and artists. So far, they've raised $2,873, and are hoping to reach $25,000.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece