Learn more about the Citroën, vintage French cars that will fill the streets of NYC this weekend for Bastille Day celebrations!
Gain exclusive access to one of NYC's oldest historic homes, currently closed for restoration!
Enjoy a spectacular night of entertainment at The Green-Wood Cemetery!
Take part in food festivals, S.T.E.A.M. activities live performances, and more!
June 19, 1865 began as another average day in South Texas, at a time during which chattel slavery was very much alive. However, the day ended quite differently as Union troops finally arrived to Galveston Bay in Texas with one pivotal message: the Union had won the Civil War and henceforth all enslaved people were to be free. Though these soldiers arrived with this news a full two years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved peoples, the actual end of slavery was not uniformly enforceable in all states across the Union. Upon this news reaching the small community located in Galveston Bay, Texas, formerly enslaved people broke out into joyous celebration. This festive occasion, recalled by the Black community to this day as ‘Juneteenth,’ traveled with the descendants of the first celebrants across the United States, and remains the longest celebrated end to slavery in the United States.
Juneteenth finally gained status as a federal holiday in June 2021, over 150 years after it originated. In 2022, the holiday will be celebrated for the second time as a federal holiday. In President Biden’s proclamation of the holiday, he acknowledges the holiday’s importance in a national reckoning with America’s legacy of racial inhumanity. A day marked for celebrating Black joy and resilience in the United States, and a reminder for US citizens to continue to join forces to pursue racial equality and justice, Juneteenth is commemorated across the New York City area. Here we have assembled ten exciting free events across the city to commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth.
🗓️Friday, June 20th at 6:30pm ET
📍Pier 45
The Ladies of Hip Hop, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls and women in Hip-Hop culture, will take viewers on a journey through a variety of dance traditions, from the Lindy Hop and jazz and tap, to Hip-Hop, House and beyond, connecting these movement traditions across generations to honor the innovation, resistance and cultural brilliance of Black American dance.
🗓️ Thursday, June 12th through Thursday, June 19th
📍Brooklyn
This eight-day celebration has something for everyone, even people who want to tune in virtually. From step performances and poetry readings for kids to a fashion show, the Black Kings Gala, and parade, you can see the full line-up of events on the Juneteenth NY Festival website here!
🗓️ Thursday, June 19th, 12pm - 8pm ET
📍Weeksville Heritage Center
Weeksville Heritage Center and Black-Owned Brooklyn bring together nearly 30 top-tier food vendors for this 4th annual festival. Vendors including Black Nile, Virginia Smashburginia, Miss Holly’s Smokehouse, Black Rican Vegan, and more will serve up drinks, dishes, and desserts that represent Brooklyn’s diasporic foodways, all to the tune of DJ Spinna and alongside family-friendly cultural performances. Learn more here.
🗓️Saturday, June 28th at 1pm - 4pm ET
📍Lewis Latimer House, 34-41 137th Street, Queens
Celebrate Juneteenth at the former home of a Black innovator and enjoy live performances and unique S.T.E.A.M. activities that explore light, sound, flight, and invention. There will be powerful tributes to Black innovation, creativity, and resilience. This free event requires registration and is presented by the Lewis Latimer House and Cool Culture.
🗓️ Thursday, June 19th at 12:30pm - 3pm ET
📍Senece Village Landscape in Central Park (West 85th Street and West Drive. Enter the Park at W 85th St.)
Before Central Park was created in 1858, Seneca Village (between West 82nd and West 89th Street) was home to a predominantly African-American community. Soon before Central Park came to fruition, the village was complete with a school for African-American students, churches, homes, and even burial grounds. Residents were able to own property, which meant that some could vote, per restrictive property voting requirements at the time. This self-sufficient community was displaced by eminent domain in order to build Central Park, but its legacy will be celebrated on the grounds on which it existed this Juneteenth.
The Central Park Conservancy welcomes musicians and poets to the site this June for live performances and poetry readings inspired by the lives of former residents. Performers include The Rakiem Walker Project, Kai Diata Giovanni, 2024-2025 NYC Youth Poet Laureate and Kayden Hern, 2023 New York Gubernatorial Inauguration Poet Laureate, Courtney Symone Staton, and Jayden Antwine.
🗓️ Saturday, June 21st, 1pm–5 pm ET
📍Brooklyn Museum
Spend an afternoon at the Brooklyn Museum taking part in activities and music that honor self-expression, community, Black liberation, and creativity. You can express yourself at the poetry open mic or by making your own zine and contributing to the community photo series, or hang back and enjoy the music of the Bruce Edwards Trio with Alisa Ohri and sets mixed by SoulSummit. Jubilee events are free with Museum admission (purchase tickets for Solid Gold separately). Learn more here.
🗓️ Thursday, June 19th at 6:00 pm
📍Hearst Plaza and Damrosch Park
Lincoln Center's Curated fifth annual Juneteenth celebration draws inspiration from the rich traditions of African and African-American folklore. Conceptualized, and executed by Carl Hancock Rux, this year's event explores themes of cultural identity, societal norms, and significant historical events including Sankofa, a mythical bird depicted with an egg in its beak, facing forward with its feet while looking back. This imagery represents the importance of preserving collective memory as a source of cultural identity that transcends both time and place. There will be choral performances, dance, animal tales, slave narratives, and educational fables by artists including multidisciplinary artist Dianne Smith, actress/comedian Phyllis Stickney; multimedia artist Vinson Fraley; dancer and Urban Bush Women Co-Artistic Director Chanon Judson, blue jazz guitarist Marvin Sewell; and the Etienne Lashley choir. This event is free, but you can get a Fast Track ticket. Learn more here.
Next, discover these 33 Black History Sites to Discover in NYC.
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