Community Corner
Celebrate Juneteenth in Seneca Village
Embark on a Journey Through History, Music, and Poetry in Central Park—June 19, beginning at 12:30 p.m.
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New York, NY — This Juneteenth, the Central Park Conservancy invites New Yorkers and visitors alike to gather in celebration and reflection of Seneca Village, a predominantly Black 19th-century New York City community. On Thursday, June 19, 2025, from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m., the quiet slope of Central Park near West 85th Street will stir once more with the spirit of community, as artists, historians, and neighbors of all generations come together for an afternoon of live music, poetry, and remembrance, marking the 200th anniversary of Seneca Village's founding.
Before there was a park, there was a village. Founded in 1825, thirty years before Central Park existed, the land from West 82nd to 89th Street was home to Seneca Village. It was a rare sanctuary: a place where free Black New Yorkers had the opportunity for land ownership, education, and community—a remarkable achievement in the pre-Civil War era. Today, the traces of this once-vibrant community endure—preserved through research, memory, and the belief that history is never truly lost, even when the land around it is transformed.
For years, the Conservancy has worked to recover and share the story of Seneca Village, most recently through Seneca Village: Toward a Permanent Commemoration— a multiyear initiative funded by the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project. Through public engagement, archaeological and historical interpretation, and the arts, the program is building toward the creation of a community-informed framework to guide the design of a lasting commemoration within Central Park. This Juneteenth event is one chapter in that broader effort: a living archive of voices and visions that honor the past while envisioning a future grounded in freedom.
Beginning at 1:00 p.m., the celebration will feature moving performances inspired by the lives and legacies of Seneca Village’s residents. Among those lending their voices are Kai Diata Giovanni, the 2024-25 New York City Youth Poet Laureate; Kayden Hern, the 2023 New York Gubernatorial Inauguration Poet Laureate; poet and educator Jayden Antwine; and acclaimed poet and storyteller Courtney Symone Staton. The Rakiem Walker Project will set the mood with their soulful and electric jazz-infused sound—threading the celebration with rhythm and resonance.
In this historic place, attendees will experience more than entertainment—these powerful performances are a form of testimony, connecting past and present, deepening our collective understanding of Seneca Village, and inviting us to reflect on how we remember and honor Black history.
Whether you’re a history enthusiast, an arts lover, or someone seeking meaning in today’s commemorations of freedom, this Juneteenth experience offers a collective act of honoring—of telling stories, community, and reimagining what remembrance can become.
To learn more, visit centralparknyc.org/juneteenth.
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