This article originally appeared in PureHoney Magazine. Check them out here.
The classic juke joint as a place for Black Americans to play and hear live music, and to dance, drink and socialize had its heyday in the segregated South following the abolition of slavery. While just a handful bona-fide juke joints still operate today, their impact in fostering Black music and its profound influence on American life is enduring. For the third year, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami is recreating that formative experience with Juneteenth Juke Joint, a celebration of Black joy, music and culture that also commemorates the end of slavery.
Juneteenth, long celebrated in Black communities, became a national holiday in 2021 marking June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to free enslaved people. Arsht Center community engagement manager Zaylin Yates says that the center’s Heritage Committee, which puts together events and programming supporting Black artists, wanted to find a way to celebrate the milestone, and the Juneteenth Juke Joint was born…