Celebrate Juneteenth In New Hampshire Friday

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Friday is Juneteenth, the annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, which occurred more than 150 years ago.

This is the second year New Hampshire has celebrated the day after Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill acknowledging the date in 2019.

There are both virtual and in-person events, or in the case of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in Portsmouth, three days of events. The organization, which has highlighted the lives and stories of Black Americans in New Hampshire for a number of years, began the celebration by hosting an online soul food cooking program Thursday.

At 1 p.m. Friday, Akwaaba Ensemble and Rev. Robert Thompson will host an African drumming performance via Zoom and Facebook live. Later in the day, at 7 p.m., members of the Negro Ensemble Company New York including Burgundy Williams, Joy Brown, Michael Andreaus, Sean Mason, and special guest N’Kenge, will perform songs that feed the soul.

More food will be served up Saturday at 10 a.m. when a Zoom panel will discuss the diet of our ancestors — and what history and science reveals. The talk will be hosted by Shari Robinson, Adrian Miller, and Amy Michael.

For more information, visit the org's website here.

NextGen NH, a progressive organization working to re-elect Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and unseat Gov. Chris Sununu, hosts a discussion about black women attending a predominantly white college — Dartmouth, specifically.

Sorority sisters from the Pi Theta chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will participate in a call at 4 p.m. Friday.

The sisters will speak about Juneteenth, the experience of Black sororities and fraternities, and their experience at Dartmouth. The organization said the conversation was part of a series NextGen America was sponsoring to promote an online petition for a national recognition of the Juneteenth.

"We're seeing a national outcry for justice right now, but the resilience of Black people is on display everyday, everywhere," said Ed Taylor, NextGen New Hampshire's digital director, who is moderating the talk with the sisters. "This glimpse into the lives of these Black women will shed a much needed light on the need for impactful change in our society, especially in predominantly white spaces."

To participate in the call with the sisters, email dan.bristol@nextgenamerica.org. To participate in the digital celebration of Juneteenth, register here.

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