Join the museum’s Juneteenth celebration – during the entire month of June – and embrace the rich history of Freedom Day each week.


The First Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865, nearly two years after President Abraham Lincoln emancipated enslaved Africans in America, Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas with news of freedom. More than 250,000 African Americans embraced freedom by executive decree in what became known as Juneteenth or Freedom Day. With the principles of self-determination, citizenship, and democracy magnifying their hopes and dreams, those Texans held fast to the promise of true liberty for all.

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"The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer."

Gordon Granger
Union General, June 19, 1865
Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900 held in "East Woods" on East 24th Street in Austin.

The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth

Juneteenth is an often overlooked event in our nation’s history. On June 19, 1865, Union troops freed enslaved African Americans in Galveston Bay and across Texas some two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Read More about The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth

What is Juneteenth?

In this curatorial discussion, museum experts examine the historical significance of the holiday and how it came to be.
Read More about What is Juneteenth?

The Historical Legacy of Black Family Reunions

The coming of summer heralds cook-outs, line dancing, and brightly colored t-shirts iconic of Black family reunions.

A Freedom Deferred

With the end of slavery, searching for family members who had been separated or sold away became the focus of many formerly enslaved individuals. The number of years of separation did not deter people from hoping to reunite with lost loved ones. Newspaper advertisements, letters and word of mouth were all employed as part of the search. The hope was that a positive response might lead to a reunion with family members.    

carte-de-viste depicting the Fisk University Jubilee Singers with all nine members present. On the back, the photo reads "American Missionary Association. Jubilee Singers, Fisk University, Nashville, TN."

Emancipation and Educating the Newly Freed

For the nearly four million newly freed, education was a crucial first step to becoming self-sufficient. Between 1861 and 1900, more than 90 institutions of higher education were founded for African Americans.
Read More about Emancipation and Educating the Newly Freed
Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864. 

Publishers throughout the North responded to a demand for copies of Lincoln’s proclamation and produced numerous decorative versions, including this engraving by R. A. Dimmick in 1864. 

National Museum of American History, gift of Ralph E. Becker
After the Civil War, African Americans worked tirelessly to reconnect with family and loved ones separated under slavery. The Freedmen's Bureau was a useful tool, aiding in the work that Black communities were already doing to reunite families.
a Freedmen's Bureau document.

Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal

The Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal provides unprecedented opportunities for family historians and genealogists to search for their ancestors and for scholars to research a variety of topics related to slavery and Reconstruction in the Freedmen’s Bureau records.
Read More about Freedmen's Bureau Search Portal

Smithsonian Transcription Center

The Smithsonian Transcription Center is a pan-Smithsonian website that allows digital volunteers, or “volunpeers,” from around the world to transcribe documents, photograph captions, field books, and other materials online.
Read More about Smithsonian Transcription Center

Office of Sub Asst. Comr. Bur. R.F. & A.L.
sixth Sub District of Texas
Columbus Tex June 12th 1867.

Lieut. J.T. Kirkman U.S.A.
Supt. of Education
Bur. R.F. & A.L.
Galveston Tex

Sir:

The freedpeople of this County are to celebrate the anniversary of their Emancipation
on Saturday June 24th. The schools of this District 
will form a feature of the day's enjoyment in making 
short addresses + singing songs and hymns. It has been suggested that Prizes be 
distributed on that day to those of the children 
who have received the highest averages for good conduct and application to study.

Will the Bureau furnish these say 10 or 15 handsome Bibles and a 
few other good Books for the occasion?

Very Respectfully
Your Obd't Servt
Enon M. Harris
S.A. Comr.

Records of the Superintendent of Education for the State of Texas Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1870, Letters Received, Unregistered Letters Received

Tastes of Resilience

Explore the symbolism of red foods as a sign of resilience and joy. The color red is highly associated with the cultures that would've come through the later years of the TransAtlantic slave trade, which would have been Yoruba and Kongo. People from the Yoruba of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo; and the Kongo of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo and Gabon—placed great philosophical and spiritual value in the color red as it symbolizes sacrifice, transition and power.  

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Based on time-honored recipes updated for today’s palate, NMAAHC Curator Joanne Hyppolite and Sweet Home Executive Chef Ramin Coles will discuss how at-home audiences can design and cook a delicious Juneteenth Day menu for family and friends.

Cherry Cobbler - 2:41

Red Beans and Rice - 10:51

Cherry Cola BBQ sauce - 17:03

Stewed Okra w/ Tomatoes and Corn - 24:00

BBQ Chicken - 29:14

National Museum of African American History and Culture
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Charlotte Lyons, food editor of Ebony Magazine, demonstrates how to make Salmon Tacos in the famous Ebony Food Kitchen.

© Museum of Food and Drink
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NMAAHC Web Content Specialist Andre Thompson and his family show how to make the perfect brisket for Juneteenth.

Sweet Home Cafe Juneteenth Menu

Our Juneteenth menu is available June 16 - 22, 2023


Sounds of Freedom

Celebrate the ways slaves sung their way to freedom. Highlighting songs of survival and negro spirituals. Listen to music that symbolizes hope, joy and perseverance and honors Black Americans' lives, legacy, resilience and self-sufficiency.

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Rochelle Rice sings "Lift Every Voice and Sing."


Who Celebrates Juneteenth?

Frederick Douglass once famously asked, “What to a slave is the Fourth of July?” To honor the anniversary of the freedom granted to those enslaved African Americans, we’ve pondered a similar question, “What is the significance of Juneteenth to the Black community?” 

Juneteenth Today

In 2021, Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday, opening it to symbolic and global interpretation and providing a better understanding of the evolution of our nation and its people. Juneteenth celebrations then, like now, recognize the ongoing fight for human rights and equality and are commemorated through family cookouts, faith services, musical performances and storytelling. Today, Juneteenth celebrates African American resilience and achievement while aiding in the preservation of those historical narratives that promoted racial and personal advancement since Freedom Day. 

U.S. President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in the East Room of the White House on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Juneteenth holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and the Juneteenth National Independence Day will become the 12th legal federal holiday — the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.

U.S. President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in the East Room of the White House on June 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Juneteenth holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and the Juneteenth National Independence Day will become the 12th legal federal holiday — the first new one since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

"As we continue to celebrate Juneteenth as a federal holiday, we remember and recognize how the Black community continues to make a way out of no way, overcoming trials and celebrating triumphs while honoring the place and price of freedom."

Kevin Young
Andrew W. Mellon Director, NMAAHC

Juneteenth Community Day

Senses of Freedom: The Taste, Sound, and Experience of an African American Celebration
Saturday, June 17, 2023 - 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Video Header Credit: Film 26, 1926, 1928, undated. Solomon Sir Jones Films. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

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