Arlington, TX — Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that enslaved people in Texas finally learned that they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, signed in January 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln.
The Arlington Museum of Art and Create Arlington will celebrate the 156th anniversary of that milestone with a Juneteenth Jubilee on June 19.
The free block party will feature a greeting by Mayor Williams, a city proclamation read by Dr. Barbara Odom Wesley, live music by Kenya C, New Life Fellowship Church Choir, Verb Culture and Beat Street, and Eric Phillips as well as a Step performance by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, dance by Step by Step, poetry by Michael Guinn, a call for voter registration by the NAACP and a brief history of Juneteenth by Dr. Pamela Hill. In addition to these performances, there will be vendors from the Black Bazaar, children’s activities such as a story time by the Arlington Public Library and a chalk artist, as well as 3 food trucks which will be Big Tyme BBQ, LaQuanda Desserts and The Flying Pig.
Festival attendees are invited to stay downtown after the block party for the free summer concert series at Levitt Pavilion. R&B artist Key LeBlanc will perform at 7 p.m., followed by “American Idol” finalist Ron Bultongez at 8 p.m.
During the block party, admission fees will be waived for the Arlington Museum of Art’s 30 Americans exhibit, featuring works by seminal Black artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Carrie Mae Weems.
The event goes on from 5-7:30 p.m., a 2½-hour time span that represents 2.5 years of denied freedom, at the museum and along West Main Street. The street will be closed from S Center St to S Pecan St for the event. Free parking will be available throughout downtown Arlington.
Arlington Museum of Art is located at 201 W. Main St. For more information, visit https://www.arlingtonmuseum.org/upcoming-events/juneteenth
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