The Philadelphia Juneteenth Family invites you to participate in this joyous, historic occasion, Juneteenth, that will be celebrated throughout the city, the state, and the nation.
Philadelphia will host several ceremonies and activities in connection with, and leading up to this historic date JUNE 19, 2021:
Commencing on Monday, June 6th, The Philadelphia Juneteenth Family will host a Juneteenth Flag Raising Ceremony, in conjunction with the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, who will be holding similar celebrations across the nation.
The Philadelphia Juneteenth Family’s phase of the program will begin at 11:30am at City Hall, at the Flagpole on the North Broad Street side.
As guests arrive, they will be regaled by the sounds of New Orleans Jazz performed by the Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble’s UCC Brass Band. Beautiful renditions of the National Anthem, and the Black National Anthem performed by St Thomas AME gospel Choir.
General Order #3, issued by Union Army General Gordon Granger to announce the end of slavery in Texas, will be read by Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. This is the same historic order read to those who were still being held as slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865, two years after other slaves in the south had already been set free. These last remaining enslaved Africans in Galveston, Texas, learning that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years prior by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and that they were now free and no longer bound, broke into an eruption of jubilation, dancing, and celebration on that historic day, that it quickly became known as JUNETEENTH. Newly freed slaves burst into dancing and singing and praising God, pulling family and friends out of the fields, and it was celebrated broadly throughout all the plantations and ranches in Texas, eventually spreading to Oklahoma (which was free territory), Louisiana, Missouri, and other neighboring states, amongst formerly enslaved Black people.
The celebration in Philadelphia will include Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier and Kenyatta Johnson, Ronald Browm along with community leaders, who have been invited to speak.
Another stellar highlight of the 2021 Juneteenth Ceremony will be the “Garvey Freedom Lights” Project, featuring the Black Liberation colors of Red, Black & Green. The lighting will start June 13 and continue through June 19th. We will light up the Philadelphia skyline and the colors will be displayed throughout the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection on skyscrapers, city buildings, and landmarks as Boat House Row, the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Philadelphia Airport Tower, Parx, Rivers and Live! Casinos, Independence Blue Cross, PECO Crown Lights, North Broad Street Lights, Cira Centre, FMC Tower, Liberty Place One and Two, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park and more.
Please check our Facebook page (@phillyjuneteenthfamily) for additional information.
The best times to tour and see the Garvey Freedom Lights will be June 17th through 19th, starting at dusk each evening.
Juneteenth 2022 will have something for everyone, as we continue to celebrate in the spirit of Freedom and Solidarity.
One People, One Cause, One Destiny
