There are so many Juneteenth activities in Queens this year that it’s hard to believe that the date became a national holiday only four years ago.
The World’s Most Diverse Borough is ready to host live performances, screenings, workshops, and community conversations between June 14 and June 21. A chronologic schedule follows. (The list will be updated as more information becomes available. If you know of an event, please send the details to [email protected].)
June 14
The Lewis Latimer House Museum will present three hours of live performances, hands-on activities, and tributes to African American innovation, creativity, and resilience, starting at 1 pm. Organized in collaboration with Cool Culture, music, dance, games, STEM challenges, and storytelling will also be on tap. It’s free, and the landmark venue is located at 34-41 137th St. in Flushing.
June 19
The Jamaica Performing Arts Center and the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning will organize a Marathon Screening on June 19 and June 20. To run from 9 am to 6 pm on both days, the sister nonprofits will screen the multiple-episode TV series Roots with enhancement from audience discussions and remarks from Andrew Sekou Jackson, Rev. Carla Hunter Ramsey, and Courtney Ffrench. It’s free and JPAC’s main entrance is at 153-10 Jamaica Ave.
Jackson, who is also known as “Sekou Molefi Baako,” is a Vietnam veteran and Executive Director Emeritus of the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center. The Queens College graduate is a co-editor of The 21st Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges (2010, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC) and the Handbook of Black Librarianship, Third Edition (2024, Rowman & Littlefield).
Hunter Ramsey, also a Queens College graduate, has an executive master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College and a master’s in divinity degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
Ffrench, who studied at Queens College as well, is the Artistic Director of JCAL. The Jamaica (West Indies) native is also the founder and director of the Vissi Dance Theater.
Editor’s note: Based on Alex Haley’s best-selling 1976 Doubleday novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” the 1977 series Roots got 37 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning nine. It consists of eight episodes that chronicle Haley’s family from Western Africa to slavery in the United States and eventual emancipation over several generations. It’s based on real events in the historic fiction mode.
The Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Museum of the Moving Image have joined forces to offer The Entrfied Band. Scheduled for noon, the concert is part of a six-hour afternoon with dance performances by Edge School of the Arts, games, a film screening, an animation workshop, and an expert talk.
Admission is free, and MoMI’s main entrance is 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District. Plus, gallery admission is free from 2 pm to 6 pm.
Meanwhile in SEQ, The Family Reunion is set for Roy Wilkins Park at noon. This eight-hour celebration honors the Black family and the African American community’s resilience and liberation. It’s free. Look for it in the vicinity of Merrick Boulevard and Baisley Boulevard in Jamaica.
June 21
Head to Louis Armstrong House Museum’s Japanese garden for the Endea Owens Juneteenth Concert at 3 pm. Owens, a bassist, composer, and bandleader, and her band The Cookout will use music to celebrate the African American excellence. It is free, but registration is required. The Armstrong House is located at 34-56 107th St. in Corona.
What Is Juneeteenth?
Juneteenth originates from Union General Gordon Granger’s order to grant freedom to slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the nationwide Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, but Texas slave owners hid this news until General Granger’s proclamation. Long celebrated in the Lone Star State, it became a federal holiday in 2021.
Top image: Niles Rencher/Eye of Niles Photography/Juneteenth in Queens powered by the People
Bottom image: Unsplash/Jon Tyson