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Freedom Day June 19

Juneteenth

Juneteenth Month Image

On June 19, 1865, more than two years following President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the Union Army reached Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans the Civil War had ended and that they were finally free. June 19 has since commemorated the end of slavery for all Americans, and is celebrated as America's second Independence Day: Juneteenth. We encourage all members of the Johns Hopkins SAIS community to learn more about the history of Juneteenth here.

Beginning this year, Johns Hopkins will observe the anniversary of Juneteenth as an official university holiday. The university will honor the holiday on Friday, June 18. The school’s Diversity Council invites all members of the SAIS community to celebrate Juneteenth through events taking place in the Baltimore-Washington area listed below.

Juneteenth Homewood Event Image

Juneteenth at Homewood: Freedom and the Liberation Arts

Fri, June 18, 2021-12:00 – 1:00 PM

The Billie Holiday Project for Liberation Arts and Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts & Sciences will host a live webcast from the Homewood Museum featuring dramatic performances based on the writings of Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and other Black Baltimoreans who were at the forefront of the 19th century Abolition movement. The event will also feature original poetry and storytelling, traditional West African drumming, and a musical blues elegy honoring the "freedom dreams" of the enslaved.

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Event list:

A Celebration of Resilience | Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Adrian Miller, author of Black Smoke, will join Kevin Young, director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and member of the Southern Food Alliance, to discuss the perseverance, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship of African Americans whose faces and stories have been marginalized from the story of this American cuisine.
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One DC

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT
Celebrate Juneteenth with One DC at the grand reopening of their Black Workers & Wellness Center. A community controlled space in Anacostia where they organize for racial and economic justice through popular education, direct action, and worker owned economic alternatives.
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A Celebration of Resilience | Genealogy & Records of Intrigue

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Using a case of "Reverse Genealogy" the family history of an enslaved spinner and weaver will be traced from the era of the American Revolution to the turn of the century. This presentation will demonstrate how one critical record links to a host of documents leading to an intriguing emancipation story.
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GRIOT Circle & The Peale Center for Baltimore History & Architecture

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 1:00 PM EDT
Juneteenth Stories of Freedom : A Juneteenth virtual storytelling event featuring African American storytellers. The celebration will unite all people in the spirit of activism inspired by the recent human rights protests.
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A Celebration of Resilience | Porch Stories - Tales of Slavery and Beyond

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT
Internationally recognized storyteller Jan Blake will share two stories and discuss how she weaves the African American experience into the body of her work with Daniel Black, Professor of African American Studies at Clark Atlanta University.
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A Celebration Of Resilience | Juneteenth: Connecting the Historic to the Now

Sat, June 19 2021 - 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM EDT
A panel of scholars will explore the origins of Juneteenth and discuss the historical and current political significance of the holiday.
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A Celebration of Resilience | Community Soundstage: A Conversation with Amythyst Kiah

Sat, June 19 2021 - 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Amythyst Kiah, will perform three acoustic numbers, including her breakout hit “Black Myself. Dwandalyn Reece, associate director of Curatorial Affairs at NMAAHC, will interview Kiah about her highly anticipated album, Wary + Strange, and how music helps her listeners recognize the intersection of historic and contemporary social justice challenges.
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Step Afrika!

Sat, June 19, 2021 - 8:00 PM EDT
Virtual Juneteenth Celebration: Honors and embodies the determination, resilience, and reclamation of freedom with newly filmed choreographic masterpieces inspired by the African American experience.
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BLKARTHouse exhibit at Eaton DC

Fri, June 25, 2021 - 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM EDT
BlkArthouse's Juneteenth exhibition, featuring artwork by 19 Black artists from around the world.
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