Newton To Celebrate 'Juneteenth' Day

NEWTON, 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.

The Newton Cultural Council, Newton Community Pride, FORJ, and the Harmony Foundation are sponsoring Newton's celebration with speakers, musical performances, art and a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in Newton Highlands on Friday to celebrate. Newton North and FORJ will be hosting a second event Saturday.

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.

Newton's first celebration this year is scheduled for 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Hyde Playground on Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands. Register here. Rain date, Saturday, June 26. The organizers are requiring masks and distancing.

A second event will be held the day after the holiday, on June 20 from noon-4 p.m. The second event is sponsored by FORJ and Newton North High School, also at the playground on Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands. There will be music and dance performances as well as a food truck and ice cream.

Historic Newton will have a table with literature at the first event on the history of Juneteenth.

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.