How to celebrate Juneteenth in Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- Monday marks Juneteenth, a holiday honoring and celebrating the official end to slavery in the United States.
The holiday has been sacred to many Black communities for more than a century, but it has become widely recognized since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021
June 19 marks the day in 1865 enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed. This was two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and months after the Confederacy surrendered in the Civil War.
Related:
- What's closed and what will remain open on Juneteenth 2023
- A beginner's guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?
Celebrations are taking place across the country in honor of Juneteenth. Baltimore's official Juneteenth celebration, the AFRAM Festival, happened over the weekend.
Here's what buzzing in the Baltimore area on the holiday:
- Sponsored by the NAACP, a Juneteenth 5k kicks off in Columbia along Harriet Tubman lane at 8 a.m.
- At Fort McHenry, there here will be free Juneteenth musical performances, dance and spoken word from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Highlighting black entrepreneurs, Snipes Clothing is hosting the "Black is Not a Monolith" activation to showcase local trailblazers from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hotel Revival.
- Busboys and Poets in North Baltimore is hosting a Juneteenth Mix & Mingle networking event from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with the D.C. Black MBA Association.
- At The Compound, an artist-run nonprofit, enjoy An Opulent Juneteenth featuring DJ sets, a panel discussion, food, drinks and even a tattoo bar.