Juneteenth honors the day in 1865 on which, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, and announced the news of the proclamation to enslaved African Americans. The 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were the very last to be informed. After that day, it became a tradition for African Americans to celebrate freedom every year around this time. Juneteenth, originally called Jubilee Day or Freedom Day, has spread from Texas to other states, and is celebrated as a culturally important day for education, connection, and action.
Last year the Sierra Club Board of Directors approved the addition of Juneteenth as an official Sierra Club holiday. This year we will be closed on Friday, June 18th, in observance of Juneteenth. Staff and volunteers are encouraged to honor and reflect on the day, including by participating in events to mark Juneteenth.
Many Juneteenth activities are happening around the state, and we encourage you to learn more about Juneteenth and find out what is happening in your area.
These are some of the things we found.
- Where to celebrate Juneteenth in Maryland | Baltimore Sun
- Celebrate Juneteenth and Josiah Henson’s Birthday in week-long celebration! | Montgomery Parks
- Juneteenth | Prince George’s Parks
- Black Heritage - Juneteenth | Prince George's County Memorial Library System
- Juneteenth | Hyattsville, MD
- Historic East Towson Juneteenth Music Festival
- Juneteenth in DC
- Juneteenth Events Listed on Facebook
There are also virtual events you can plug into nationally, such as these events sponsored by the Juneteenth Foundation and some of the ones at the Facebook link above.
Outdoor Afro is a national not for profit organization with leadership networks that connects Black Americans to the outdoors. Sierra Club is supporting Outdoor Afro’s efforts to get 50,000 people outside on Juneteenth to commemorate the 2.5 years enslaved people in Texas were delayed their freedoms. This effort invites us to consider a donation to Outdoor Afro and go outdoors for 2.5 hours to reflect on the history of Juneteenth and what it means to be truly free in America.
Late breaking update! Later on June 15, this remarkable news about Juneteenth came out!
The Senate passed a bill Tuesday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday (usatoday.com)
The "Juneteenth National Independence Day Act" heads to the House for approval. If it passes and President Joe Biden signs it into law, every federal employee will be granted a day off to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas discovered President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved African Americans in rebel states two and a half years earlier. The day is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas re-introduced the bill in February to designate Juneteenth a federal holiday.
Markey previously introduced it last June in the wake of the high-profile killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor — all Black people who died at the hands of police or armed white citizens. The 2020 bill did not progress to a vote.
In a statement, Markey said the U.S. has "failed to acknowledge, address, and come to grips with our nation’s original sin of slavery."
"Today’s Senate passage of our legislation to commemorate Juneteenth as a federal holiday will address this long-ignored gap in our history, recognize the wrong that was done, acknowledge the pain and suffering of generations of slaves and their descendants, and finally celebrate their freedom," he said.