Juneteenth

Black organizers and activists explain the history of Juneteenth in Boston and why this year feels different, after George Floyd’s death and in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Juneteenth commemorators and Black Lives Matter protesters tell NBC10 Boston what the holiday means to them, especially this year.

Massachusetts has recognized June 19 as Juneteenth Independence Day, an annual state holiday commemorating the emancipation of Black slaves in America. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed the measure, which had been included as an amendment to a coronavirus spending bill, on Friday. He said making June 19 an official state holiday will allow residents to “recognize the continued need to…

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published June 29, 2020 in the wake of the protests following the death of George Floyd and has been republished for Black History Month. The history of African Americans begins on the African continent where diverse empires thrived for thousands of years and traded gold, ivory and salt with people from other civilizations. But…

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill to remove a statue of a Confederate general near Judiciary Square.

Protests over racial injustice were again held Saturday across the state of Massachusetts, as momentum for reform continues in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Hundreds of people showed up Saturday afternoon in Cambridge at a Black Lives Matter event. The large group gathered on Cambridge Common for a rally around 4 p.m. before marching down Massachusetts Ave. They...

A rally in Milton yesterday sought to call attention to educational racism after a middle school teacher was briefly placed on administrative leave from a statement in a recent lesson. Pierce Middle School teacher Zakia Jarrett said she had been teaching a lesson around racism and poetry, specifically on the 1925 poem “I to.” “I said many that many cops…

Beyoncé did not let Juneteenth pass without dropping one of her signature surprises in the form a new single called “Black Parade.”

Dozens of rallies, marches and vigils were held Friday and are planned throughout the weekend in Massachusetts to mark Juneteenth, the traditional commemoration date of the end of slavery in the U.S. “Juneteenth, for me, is a celebration of Black history,” activist Monica Cannon-Grant recently told NBC10 Boston. “It’s still going to be the day that we were semi-free,...

People across the commonwealth gathered for marches and rallies on Juneteenth.

A traditional day of celebration has turned into one of protest, as Americans mark Juneteenth

Across the country Friday, people gathered in observance of Juneteenth, a day that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.

A pair of bills filed in the House and Senate this week would make Juneteenth an official state holiday in Massachusetts, a step that’s already been taken in other states. The lawmakers who filed the bills here said in a press release that they did so “on behalf of their constituents and in solidarity with the Movement for Black...

Social media giant TikTok has exploded in popularity with an estimated 800 million active users worldwide but an increasing number of black creators are coming forward saying TikTok is suppressing their content.

Juneteenth rallies and protests calling for racial justice were held across Massachusetts on Friday, bringing out people and politicians. Rep. Joe Kennedy III spoke live at an event in Milton.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Chicago have voiced outrage at the company after the facility offered employees “an authentic meal” of chicken and waffles in celebration of Juneteenth.

Events are planned across northern New England on Friday to mark Juneteenth, the day when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were free 155 years ago. From marches to rallies, the events come as support grows for the racial justice movement. In Vermont, the first state to abolish adult slavery in 1777, criminal defense attorneys from around the state…

Professor Wornie Reed describes his experiences during the historic 1963 March on Washington and why the current social unrest is making Juneteenth 2020 unlike any in recent memory.

Say “Juneteenth” to Kelly Navies and it evokes childhood memories of warm summers and family celebrations. Her father was a pioneering educator in the field of Black studies, so Juneteenth and its cultural significance to Black history was woven into Navies’ being from the time she was old enough to walk. But If you didn’t grow up in a household...