5 ways to celebrate Juneteenth 2024 in Boston

Things to Do

Discover festivals, educational happenings, and more taking place throughout the city during the week of June 19.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day when all enslaved people were officially freed countrywide after troops marched to Galveston, Texas to enforce the emancipation proclamation announced two years earlier. It was designated a state holiday by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2020.

Black communities celebrate the holiday nationwide with community events that include live music, educational events, and culture festivals. Read on for information about some of Boston’s Juneteenth celebrations this year, such as Hyde Park’s “Juneteenth Joy” celebration and a block party at Roxbury Community College.

On Saturday, June 15, the third annual “Juneteenth Joy: Focus on Freedom” celebration will take place in Hyde Park. Hosted by the West Fairmount Hill Community Group, comprised of residents building a more connected community, the event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hyde Park’s Martini Shell Park. Guests can expect a ceremony featuring a color guard and speakers, along with dance and musical performances throughout the day, dance lessons, and lessons on Afro-American and Afro-Latina cultures. There will also be local vendors and historical exhibits, plus a new food festival area this year.

A “celebration of Black art, culture, joy, and excellence,” the Embrace Ideas Festival returns to Boston this year, running from June 18-21. The four-day festival features panels, live performances, and keynotes, and features both local and national leaders in the anti-racism space. Highlights of this year’s event include the Juneteenth Embrace Honors Awards on June 18 at MassArt from 6 to 10 p.m.; a talk with Isabel Wilkerson, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent” was adapted into the 2023 movie “Origin” on June 20; and a block party at Roxbury Community College on June 21 at 5 p.m.

In honor of Juneteenth and in partnership with Citizens Bank, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts will offer free admission to all Massachusetts residents on Wednesday, June 19. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and grant admission to all MFA exhibits, including “Hallyu! The Korean Wave,” along with talks, performances, and art-making activities at the museum that day.

Presented by the Boston Juneteenth Committee and the National Center of Afro American Artists (NCAAA), the 14th Annual Juneteenth Emancipation Observation returns to Roxbury on Wednesday, June 19. The day, themed “Forging Tomorrow Today: Reparation to Restoration,” begins with a flag raising at the Dillaway-Thomas House in Eliot Square at 12:30 p.m. After that, there will be a 2 p.m. parade from Eliot Square to the NCAAA Museum and then a 4 p.m. Juneteenth observance on the museum grounds. 

Support one of the Boston area’s many Black-owned restaurants this Juneteenth. Find a full guide to Boston’s Black-owned restaurants here, or head to some favorites like Blue Nile for Ethiopian, Darryl’s in Roxbury for Southern comfort food, MIDA for contemporary Italian, or Grace by Nia in the Seaport for a cocktail lounge and an elevated Southern menu with live music.