Arlington will observe Juneteenth on Monday June 19th with a gathering in the Town Hall Garden from 11a.m. – 2:00p.m. with performances by internationally acclaimed jazz artist Jacques Schwarz-Bart, the Arlington High School Performing Arts Students, and members of Arlington Black Joy Project, as well as ice-cream and refreshments.

Presented by Arlington Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division, and the Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture (ArtsArlington)

This observance will immediately follow a dedication ceremony for a new Monument to Menotomy’s Enslaved & Free Persons of Color at 10:30a.m. in the Arlington’s Old Burying Ground on Pleasant Street, organized by the Arlington Historical Society, sponsored by the Town of Arlington, and financially supported by the Louise Ruma Ivers Fund of the Arlington Historical Society, with additional funding from Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

ABOUT JUNETEENTH
Juneteenth commemorates the day when the last group of previously enslaved Black people learned of their freedom in Galveston, Texas on June 19th 1865, two and half years after the Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued. The day would come to be known as Juneteenth, or “Freedom Day”, “Emancipation Day” and “Juneteenth Independence Day.” Beginning in Texas and spreading to the rest of the United States, the holiday celebrates the freedom and perseverance of African Americans and is a day to reflect on Black life and experience and gather with loved ones.