On Saturday, June 14, Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery will host its 10th annual Juneteenth celebration, commemorating the June 19 holiday which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation declaring Juneteenth an official federal holiday, and last month, Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB165 into law, making Juneteenth an annual state holiday in Alabama as well. The holiday specifically honors June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger ordered the emancipation of the remaining enslaved population of Galveston, Texas.
“The Rosa Parks Museum is excited for our tenth annual Juneteenth celebration,” announced Donna Beisel, the museum’s director of operations. “We welcome all to come out and enjoy this time of celebration and commemoration.”
The event will take place on the 200 block of Montgomery Street from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is set to include live performances throughout the day, local vendors, children’s activities, and free admission to the museum and its Children’s Wing.
Additionally, visitors will be able to board an authentic 1950s Montgomery city bus and 1960s Greyhound bus. The museum will also be hosting a financial literacy workshop at 1 p.m.
Alabama became one of the last Southern states to formally recognize Juneteenth earlier this year when Gov. Ivey signed HB165 into law after it passed the House and Senate by votes of 85-4 and 13-5, respectively. Previous efforts to recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday failed in part due to proposals which would have combined it with Confederate holidays like Jefferson Davis’ birthday.
Alabama state offices will now join federal offices in closing on June 19 in observation of the holiday.
