Juneteenth 2020: How to Celebrate Virtually From Anywhere in the US

June 19 marks the anniversary of the day that the slaves in Texas were finally freed under the Emancipation Proclamation. Since then, Juneteenth has been considered the anniversary of the end of slavery, though it does not fall on the same day President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, which was Jan. 1, 1863. Despite the declaration, the Union could not enforce the end of slavery until it had defeated the Confederacy, which reached Texas last as the furthest-south state. It was on June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announced the end of the Civil War forcing slaveholders to free their slaves. In years past, the holiday was limited in its celebration, though thanks in part to the ongoing civil rights protests, it’s been gaining prominence. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are several festivals to take part in online, via 9News.

The Denver, Colorado-based Juneteenth Music Festival will be held online from June 18 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The event will feature music performances, a live podcast as well as a virtual dance competition.

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’s 2020 Juneteenth Virtual Gala, based out of Hartford Connecticut, can be live-streamed Friday night. Saxophonist David Davi will perform, and there will be a virtual toast to mark the 155th Juneteenth with a signature Junetini cocktail.

This Virtual Juneteenth Celebration in Chicago, Illinois, is a collaboration between the Old Town School of Folk Music, The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and Live the Spirit Residency. The event kicks off at 8 p.m. CT.

Easton, Maryland’s Academy Art Museum, will host a virtual Juneteenth celebration throughout the weekend. The event will feature national as well as local African American artists.

Synergistic Holistic and Integrative Network of Entrepreneurs in Sacramento, California, is hosting an event via Zoom featuring music and poetry. The organizer said the development is inclusive and that the event also expands to all people who have “trauma originates from any kind of oppression.” To learn more, click here.

Cleveland, Ohio’s Karamu, the oldest black theater in the U.S., is hosting a 90-minute event Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The livestream will be held on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Fire TV and ROKU, featuring roughly 20 different artists.

Usually, Cincinnati would host its annual Juneteenth Festival is typically held in Cincinnati, Ohio’s Eden Park, but will also be going online Friday through Sunday. The festival will feature one-hour concerts that anyone in the country could access.

The Juneteenth Celebration in Fort Worth, Texas, will include virtual performances of Juneteenth the Stage Play along with several virtual entertainment concerts.

Finally, The National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C., along with Culture’s Founding Director Lonnie Bunch III, will feature a tour through our Slavery and Freedom exhibition to celebrate Juneteenth. The event is available to watch at any time.