Juneteenth

​​​​​​​On May 18, 2021 the Ann Arbor City Council unanimously voted to recognize Juneteenth as a city recognized holiday. View Resolution to Approve the City of Ann Arbor's Operational Adoption of Juneteenth as a Recognized and Comme​mo​rated Annual Holiday. ​​You can also read more about this at this MLive article. 

​​​View the 2021 Juneteenth Virtual Program on youtube part 1 here​. Ann for part 2, click here​​

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​​What is Juneteenth?

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared all enslaved people in the Confederate States legally free. Enslaved African Americans in Union-held states were not covered under Lincoln’s proclamation and were not officially freed until the establishment of the Thirteenth Amendment, which formally abolished slavery nationwide on Dec. 5, 1865.

Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the south reading small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation spreading the news of freedom. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, black people were enslaved for two more years. The news finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state, were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth," by people in Texas.

Juneteenth marks America’s second Independence Day. Unlike the Fourth of July it is not recognized as a federal holiday. But Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday in all but 4 states: Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. (From https://www.aachm.org/)

For more information and history, contact:

The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County

Email: [email protected], Leave a message at 734-761-1717

Text or call: 734-680-2128

Mail: PO Box 130724, Ann Arbor, MI 48105

Since 1994, the NAACP has hosted a Juneteenth event at Wheeler Park​. Wheeler Park is historic because it is named for Ann Arbor’s first and only African American Mayor, Albert H. Wheeler.  Sadly, he passed away shortly before the first Juneteenth Celebration observed in Ann Arbor in 1994. Juneteenth traditions in Ann Arbor include public readings, singing of traditional songs, historical re-enactments, cake walks, performances by youth and adults, several different food choices, vendors and something for every member of your family. (From http://www.a2naacp.org). 

Juneteenth 2020

A recording of the entire 2020 virtual Juneteenth celebration hosted by the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP and Protectors of Equality in Government (PEG), can be found here. Below is a quick highlight of the event.