As Juneteenth National Independence Day approaches, the National Park Service is marking this holiday at national parks across the Washington, D.C., area.
Juneteenth celebrates the final emancipation of enslaved African Americans, which took place in Texas in 1865, three years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Several national parks in the District of Columbus area share the stories of the fight to end slavery, establishment of civil rights and the achievements of African Americans.
Saturday, June 17
Where: Temporary visitor center at Antietam National Battlefield
When: 10 a.m.
Join a ranger-led tour to learn about the connection between the battle of Antietam and the abolition of slavery. Following the tour, attendees are invited to a program at the historic Tolson’s Chapel and School to learn about the history of Juneteenth as well as the establishment of the chapel and it’s use as a Freedman’s Bureau School during Reconstruction. The Chapel will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Best Farm
When: 11 a.m.
Celebrate Juneteenth with a guided, 1.5-hour, 1-mile-long hike and follow the journey of freedom for those who were enslaved on the farms that make up Monocacy National Battlefield today. Learn about the enslaved people who found freedom through escape, court rulings, and the ratification of Maryland’s constitution in 1864, which abolished slavery in the state. You will also learn about the African American soldiers who fought to end slavery when the tour reaches Monocacy Junction, where the U.S. Army recruited free and formerly enslaved African American men for the U.S. Colored Troops.
Sunday, June 18
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Where: Provost Marshal Office, located in historic Lower Town
When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visitors are invited to join park staff and volunteers to discover the role of the military-run Freedmen’s Bureau, which helped to protect the civil rights of freedom seekers in Harpers Ferry for months before what we know today as Juneteenth. Learn how the bureau used military authority to establish schools and churches, open an employment office, legitimize marriages, pay enlistment-bonuses owed to African American soldiers for military service and helped to reunite families separated by enslavement.
Monday, June 19
Where: Theodore Roosevelt Memorial and Facebook Live
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Commemorate Juneteenth with drumming, dancing, junior ranger programs, a ranger-led tour and more! The event will include a performance of the Black National Anthem by Ernestine Creek and remarks by CR Gibbs, author of “Black, Copper, & Bright” a book about the District of Columbia’s African American Civil War Regiment, the 1st U.S. Colored Troops. This will be followed by an island tour from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. The event will also feature a junior ranger program based around the 1st U.S. Colored Troops and a performance by speaker, musician and interdisciplinary artist Latrice V. Brunson, of her work titled “Urban Jungle.”
Theodore Roosevelt Island is an appropriate place to commemorate Juneteenth, having served as a training ground for the 1st U.S. Colored Troops and later the home to a Freedman Village where formerly enslaved people lived shortly after end of the Civil War. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch the event on Facebook Live.
Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
Where: Historic farmhouse at Oxon Hill Farm
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Listen to one of Frederick Douglass’s famous speeches, ask questions, and explore the history of slavery and emancipation at the farm’s historic farmhouse. Watch and listen as actor Nathan Richardson, who portrays Frederick Douglass, recite Douglass’ speech “What a Black Man Wants” from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. From 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can meet and greet “Mr. Douglass” and explore Oxon Hill Farm’s historic farmhouse.
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Where: African American Civil War Memorial (1925 Vermont Avenue NW)
When: 1:30 p.m.
Join a park ranger to find out how emancipation evolved from the 13th Amendment to the celebration of Juneteenth as a national holiday.
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Where: Park for the tour near the Groveton Rd/Rt 29 Intersection
When: 1:45 p.m.
Look behind-the-scenes at the construction of the Andrew Redman Blacksmith Shop in the historic crossroads community of Groveton. Andrew Redman was an enslaved African American blacksmith who lived in the Groveton community. Groveton was a Civil War-era village located at the crossroads of Groveton Rd and Rt 29. The only original structure remaining is the L. Dogan House. The program will include a discussion on slavery and freedom in Prince William County during the Civil War, information on Andrew Redman and the NPS’s plans for the shop.
