Kalamazoo area museums, parks, bars, a playhouse, a church, and a university are among the hosts of celebrations of the Juneteenth holiday starting next week. Juneteenth – a portmanteau of June and nineteenth – commemorates June 19, 1865, a second independence day. Two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, federal troops informed the last enslaved people in the Confederacy, in Galveston, Texas. Texas was the first state to recognize the holiday, in 1979; it became a federal holiday in 2021.
Rootead’s annual Juneteenth Celebration festival, focused on healing, entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, and intergenerational connection includes live dance and music performances and runs from 1-7 p.m. June 20 at Bronson Park.
Adjacent to Bronson Park, First Congregational Church will host a free history exhibit titled “Black Voices of Dignity” June 18-21 that includes photographs, art, and cultural artifacts that celebrate the accomplishments and cultural heritage of Black Americans. The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is also hosting a Juneteenth Commemoration event on June 18 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m…