Honor Juneteenth—the annual holiday commemorating the end of legal slavery in the United States—with a full day of activities celebrating self-expression, community, and Black liberation and creativity. Taking place on Father’s Day, this year’s event will feature activities for the whole family. 

In the morning, join Good Company Bike Club to kick off their Freedom Ride, a daylong tour of historic Brooklyn locations and landmarks relevant to the Black community, including stops at Black-owned restaurants to rest and replenish. To register for this ride, visit Good Company Bike Club. Then, participate in Kemetic breathwork, drawn from a form of yoga inspired by ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and meditation for liberation led by Maya Eberhart and Steven Rousseau. Plus, enjoy poetry performances within the galleries, presented by the Breathing Space. 

Throughout the day, families can join family programming partners Cool Culture and Culture Connected for drop-in art-making, a reading corner, a sound bath with Rena Anakwe, book giveaways, an Afrocentric dance workshop with Tiffany Barett, and more in the outdoor space behind the Museum.

Conclude the afternoon, or get your night started, with Brown Sugar Bounce, a celebration of Blackness and soulful music in its purest form featuring music by ClassicNewWave. Throughout the performance, participate in community portraits by Brooklyn photography collective Souls in Focus.

This program is free, but please RSVP.

Programming developed in partnership with The Culture LP, which is celebrating ten years of uplifting the global majority through the power of the arts. Learn more: @theCultureLP

Schedule of events:

11 am: Good Company Bike Club’s Freedom Ride kickoff (Plaza)

11 am–2 pm: Family fun with Cool Culture and Culture Connected, featuring art-making and community-mapping activities, children’s book giveaway and reading corner, and a scavenger hunt (Sculpture Garden; rain location: Education Studios)

12:30–1:15 pm: Sound bath for families with Rena Anakwe (Sculpture Garden; rain location: Education Gallery)

1–2 pm: Kemetic breathwork and meditation for liberation with Maya Eberhart and Steven Rousseau (Portico, 3rd Floor; rain location: Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor)

2–3 pm: Poetry readings with the Breathing Space (Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor)

2–3 pm: Afrocentric Dances through the Ages with Tiffany Barett (Sculpture Garden; rain location: Education Gallery)

2:30–6 pm: All-ages book giveaway with House of Speakeasy Books (Sculpture Garden; rain location: Beaux-Arts Court, 3rd Floor)

3–7 pm: Brown Sugar Bounce featuring music by ClassicNewWave and community portraits with Souls in Focus (Sculpture Garden)

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers declared that enslaved people in Texas—the last Confederate state to abolish slavery—were free. Black people in Texas held the first “Juneteenth” celebration a year later, and it became a federal holiday in 2021. To learn more, read the article “What Is Juneteenth?” by Henry Louis Gates Jr.