Montgomery County to Host 21^th Annual Juneteenth Celebration

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett invites the public to the 21st Annual Juneteenth Celebration. This free program is scheduled for Friday June 16 at the BlackRock Center for the Arts located at 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown. Doors will open for this special event at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:25 pm.

 The event, hosted by Leggett and the County Juneteenth Planning Committee, will highlight the contributions of African American women in the quest for freedom. The program will begin with a welcome by Leggett who will present the African American Living Legend Awards to honorees who have dedicated their lives to service and excellence in their contributions to the African American community.

The program will highlight the contributions of African American women in the quest for freedom. There will be a special portrayal of Harriet Tubman: Defender by Eunice Lewis Seagraves; written and directed by Dr. Percy W. Thomas of the Heralds of Hope Theater.

Following the ceremony, a barbeque dinner will be served and there will be a special presentation of the acclaimed movie Hidden Figures, which looks at the achievements of African American women who catapulted the United States space program into history. Throughout the program, Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological & Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO), winners of the Montgomery County NAACP Branch will provide entertainment.

The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights and the County Executive’s African American Advisory Group are coordinating the program, which commemorates the 153rd anniversary of the events of June 19, 1865. On that day, Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its enslaved persons. The event today is known as Juneteenth and is celebrated widely across the United States.

“The end of slavery not only meant freedom for a people, it meant freedom for a nation, However, nothing is guaranteed; as we saw social justice and equality threatened and snatched away to be won again through the brave acts of the freedom fighters of the Civil Rights Movement and Selma,” said Office of Human Rights Director James Stowe. “This is an important program for all Montgomery County families.”

Seating is limited so reservations are encouraged and can be made on line at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/humanrights. For more information, call James Stowe at the Office of Human Rights at 240-777-8490.