Celebrating Juneteenth in the City of Boston

JUNETEENTH BOSTON 'B'

MEET THE DESIGNER: This year's Juneteenth Boston "B" was designed and submitted by a City Employee, Tyissha Jones-Horner.

Tyissha Jones-Horner is from Roxbury, and currently resides in Dorchester with her husband and children. She serves as the Administrative Director of Volunteer programs for the Age Strong Commission. She is also a member of the City of Boston’s Black Employee Network and attends the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Kennedy College of Sciences and is in her last year of studying towards a degree in computer science.

Tyissha’s inspiration behind this design was the love of her people, freedom, social justice, and the many mothers who pray over the lives of their Black children.

WHY CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH?

On July 4, America marks its independence with brilliant fireworks displays, parades, and endless red, white, and blue-themed celebrations of patriotism.

For many Black Americans, however, these celebrations fall short of reflecting their lived experiences and those of their ancestors. They instead look to another date, June 19, as a more fitting time to celebrate freedom, with a holiday known as Juneteenth.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 that Union soldiers, led by General Gordon Granger, reached Galveston, Texas. they announced to the state that the Civil War was over and that all enslaved persons had been declared free.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation had become official over two years prior, the institution of slavery remained untouched in areas beyond Union control. In taking control over the state, the Union effectively liberated the remaining slaves in Texas. They also ended this specific form of slavery in America.

Juneteenth has become not only a time to commemorate Black liberation from the institution of slavery, but also a time to highlight the resilience, solidarity, and culture of the Black community. It is a time for Black Americans to reflect on their ancestral roots. They're also able to join together to celebrate the freedoms and lives that generations have fought to secure.

Today, Juneteenth is marked as much by tradition as it is by the ways that it has adapted over time. For all of the sports and games and dress that have become a part of some of the celebrations today, the core remains unchanged: family, food, and community.

Community-wide barbecues and block parties have become Juneteenth custom. One of the first large-scale Juneteeth celebrations in Boston started in the 1990s when a group of Roxbury residents met following the funeral of a mutual friend. They decided to start an annual event that has since become known as the Roxbury Pride Day Juneteenth Celebration, one of several large-scale celebrations in the City.

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