Photo courtesy Elegba Folklore Society
Juneteenth celebrates the day the news that slavery had ended reached Galveston, Texas. The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863, but the enslaved persons in the Texas town weren’t informed until June 19, 1865. As its 155th anniversary approaches, Richmond organizations are gearing up to commemorate the occasion, with everything from a church-led march for unity to a bar crawl.
The Elegba Folklore Society holds its 25th annual Juneteenth observance on June 27. Starting at 1 p.m. with a Get Woke Youth summit, a conversation for children and teens to discuss societal issues, the event segues into dance and musical performances from 2 to 6 p.m. This year’s theme is “Dancing With the Ancestors.” Tickets are $5 and free for children under 12.
Leading up to the holiday, Henrico Recreation & Parks is hosting a free screening of “Just Mercy,” featuring Michael B. Jordan as civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, screening at 8:30 p.m. June 11 at Meadow Farm Museum. The division also hosts an event on June 19 at Dorey Park, which includes fireworks, food trucks and performances from Plunky & Oneness and doo-wop group Bak N Da Day.
If you’re looking to spend some time in nature, Pocahontas State Park’s Juneteenth celebration is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 19. As part of the event, Black Girls Hike RVA will lead an educational hike to Group Camp 7, a part of the park that was once segregated, and storyteller Sheila Arnold will provide historical accounts of Oney Judge, the enslaved servant of Martha Washington, and William Still, the conductor of the Pennsylvania Underground Railroad. There will also be food trucks and tours of the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum.
Powhatan Habitat for Humanity is hosting a Juneteenth celebration from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 19. Local author and historian Sandra Morris Kemp will be on hand as well as some of Powhatan’s Black entrepreneurs and artisans.
St. John’s and St. Peter’s Episcopal Churches are hosting a Juneteenth Celebrate Freedom event together, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on June 19. The activities, including face painting and a joint worship service, begin at St. John’s and will be followed by a march for unity to St. Peter’s. There will be prayers and closing songs at St. Peter’s, along with games and a free bagged lunch.
The Hezekiah Walker Center for Gospel Music at Virginia Union University will make its debut at VUU’s Juneteenth Sounds of Freedom Celebration and will host the event with Grammy-winning gospel artist Hezekiah Walker. Ten local choirs will perform at the celebration, which will be held on VUU’s Hovey Field from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on June 19.
For the more fitness-minded, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is partnering with Project Yoga Richmond to host an oral history of Juneteenth and pay-what-you-can yoga session from 9 to 11 a.m. on June 19. Spots can be reserved online. Prefer running? The VOWS Foundation, whose focus is to provide Black and brown youth with emotional education, is hosting its first Juneteenth Jamboree/5K Marathon event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 19. In addition to the race, there will be food, games and mental health resources.
The Juneteenth Jubilee: Love and Legacy celebration happens from 2 to 6 p.m. on June 19 at Byrd Park. Sen. Tim Kaine, Del. Delores McQuinn and Richmond City Councilmember Stephanie Lynch will speak at the event, and 24 entertainment groups will perform, ranging from mimes to gospel music. The event will also provide an opportunity to learn about criminal justice reform, education equality and voters’ rights and restoration.
The Black Connections Juneteenth Expo and the RVA Black Bar Crawl are two ways to support Black-owned businesses on the holiday. The Black Connections Juneteenth Expo takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 19 at the Military Retirees Club, where there will be over 50 Black-owned businesses, vendors from 19 different states, food trucks and entertainment. The RVA Black Bar Crawl is hosting its fourth annual Juneteenth celebration, which will include 11 minority-owned restaurants, bars and lounges. The crawl starts at 2 p.m. on June 19, and multiple Black-owned businesses will set up pop-up shops at different venues; tickets are $10.
On June 19, The Black Village of RVA’s first annual Juneteenth celebration will be a block party pop-up shop from noon to 7 p.m. at Diversity Richmond. The event will include local Black-owned small businesses and feature the Legacy Band, a DJ and an African dance performance.
Out of town, the Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown presents a 90-minute outdoor performing arts program at 2 p.m. on June 19, featuring actors in the roles of an 18th-century Black soldier who escaped enslavement from enlisting in the integrated Rhode Island Regiment; Elizabeth Key, who sued for her freedom and won; and Frederick Douglass, a prominent abolitionist. Tickets are available online.
