June 18 – Alive at Five
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm @ Lewis and Clark Brewery
Live music benefitting Black history education!
June 19 – Celebratory BBQ
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm @ Lewis & Clark County Courthouse
Food, games, art, music, and history celebrating Emancipation Day!
Juneteenth National Freedom Day Celebration
The Montana Historical Society and our community partners will be hosting a variety of events in downtown Helena celebrating Juneteenth and Black history in Montana.
What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth, or June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which had declared the end of slavery in places under Confederate control two and a half years earlier. The proclamation had been largely ignored in Texas. Newly freed Black people celebrated and started an annual tradition of Juneteenth commemorations with music, barbecues, services, and other activities.
The holiday offers an opportunity to center the African American experience and collectively celebrate Black freedom. It is a time to gather as a community and recognize African Americans’ long presence and many contributions to Montana’s, and our nation’s, history. And it is a time to reflect on the meaning of freedom and the ongoing fight for racial justice.
According to Mary Elliott, Curator of American Slavery at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Juneteenth is important, because it reminds us of what we came through and what we can achieve. … [It is] a rallying call for all of us to think about the meaning of freedom, particularly regarding African Americans, as well as to the nation and the rest of the world.”
Join as at Lewis and Clark Brewing for live music to celebrate the kick-off to Helena’s 2025 Juneteenth celebration! A portion of the proceeds from the event will be dedicated to Black history education. Stop by the Juneteenth table to get more information about Thursday’s events.
Click here for more information about Juneteenth and Alive at Five
Join us on the County Courthouse lawn for a Juneteenth BBQ hosted by the City of Helena, with food cooked by the local fire department. We will have traditional lawn games, community art-making, music, and educational materials on Black history in the spirit of traditional Emancipation Day celebrations that took place across Montana in the early 20th century.
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Sunday:
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