NORTH SHORE (Podcast) Lynn is planning to hold their Juneteenth celebration on Saturday 6/17. Gloucester will be celebrating on Sunday 6/18. Details of both celebrations are posted below. Additional communties have events posted below.
This week the founder and president of North Shore Juneteenth, Nicole McClain ,spoke at the Beverly Juneteenth flag raising ceremony. Hear her comments as to the importance of Juneteenth. Beverly’s entire Juneteenth event can be viewed here. Organization link – North Shore Juneteenth
Nicole McClain – North Shore Juneteenth founder and President speaking in Beverly
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth celebrates the freedom of enslaved Black Americans. After the Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed Black people enslaved in confederate states, was signed in 1863. It was not until June 19, 1865 that enslaved Black Americans in Galveston Texas received the message of freedom. Juneteenth is observed in the Black community to commemorate the freedom, achievement, a resilience of ALL Black American .
Lynn Juneteenth Celebration – Saturday 6/17
Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration – Cape Ann Museum
SUNDAY, JUNE 18 – 11:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Community Programs, Youth and Family Programs
Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to the public
Celebrate Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States! The third Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration is presented by the North Shore Juneteenth Association and CAM’s Community Engagement Committee Member, Toni Waldron, who hosted the first Gloucester Juneteenth Celebration in 2021. Learn about the Juneteenth Holiday and its connection to Cape Ann history while celebrating Black history through music, dance and food.
As described by the North Shore Juneteenth Association, “Juneteenth is an American Holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, the date that enslaved Black people of Galveston, Texas, learned that President Abraham Lincoln had freed enslaved people in rebel states two and a half years earlier. This was the last group of enslaved Black people to learn of their freedom! Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom, a day to reflect on how far we have come and how we will continue to move forward, and a day to focus on the complexity of the Black American experience.”
Schedule
- 11:00 AM: Juneteenth Flag Raising at Gloucester City Hall with Master Sargent Carcell DuBose and the Gloucester High School ROTC. Opening Remarks with the North Shore Juneteenth Association and Mayor Greg Verga.
- 11:30 AM: Reading Frederick Douglass Together in the CAM Courtyard, supported by MassHumanities and the Mass Cultural Council
- 12:00 – 2:00 pm: New England Black Circus in the CAM Parking Lot
- 12:00pm: Mayor Greg Verga will be reading Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy in the Library Outdoor Amphitheater.
- 12:30 PM: Pop Up Poetry with Denise Washington and Akili Jaynes in the CAM Courtyard
- 1:00 pm: Yoga & Sound Healing with Sarah DeCruz and Taylor in the CAM Sculpture Garden
- 2:30 pm: Capoeira Performance in the CAM Parking Lot, sponsored by Gloucester 400+
- 3:00 – 5:00 pm: Musical performance by Rhythm Plus Soul in the CAM Courtyard sponsored by Rockport Music
Activities
- Free Admission to the Cape Ann Museum
- Book Giveaway sponsored by Art for Equity with Dogtown Books, Bookstore of Gloucester, and Suzi’s Stories
- Make your own bookmark with the Gloucester Education Foundation
- Free Silk Screening with the CAM Teen Council
- 150 Free Scoops of a special Red Velvet Ice Cream by Holy Cow Ice Cream, sponsored by Discover Gloucester
- Free Face Painting
- Gloucester 400+ Poetry Wall
- Paper Quilt Making
- Button Making
- Farm Seedling Giveaway with Backyard Growers and Iron Ox Farm
- Styling with Queen Adeline
- Interactive Rainbows with the Sawyer Free Library
Participating Organizations Include:
- Cape Ann Museum
- Gloucester 400+ Anniversary
- Suzi’s Stories
- The Bookstore of Gloucester
- City of Gloucester Sustainability
- Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe
- Backyard Growers
- Outside Mind
- Dogtown Books
- Discover Gloucester
- Action Inc.
- Art for Equity
- Gloucester Education Foundation
- Queen Adeline
- Gloucester Racial Justice Team
- HomeWorks Energy
- Sawyer Free Library
- Iron Ox Farm
- Rockport Music-Shalin Liu Performance Center
- Department of Children and Families Foster Care
This program is made possible in part by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).
