(BPRW) Anacostia Community Museum Announces Expanded Juneteenth Celebration for Nation’s 250

Block Party Features Nighttime Outdoor Roller Rink, Live Music and More

(Black PR Wire) The Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum will host its largest-ever Juneteenth Freedom Celebration Friday, June 19, anchored by a high-energy nighttime roller rink experience alongside live music and family activities. The free, full-day event, “Power in the Past, Strength in the Future,” runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and transforms the museum grounds into a vibrant, block party-style celebration with extended gallery hours. 

While the museum has hosted Juneteenth events since 1989, this year’s expanded program introduces a signature “Juneteenth Late Skate,” connecting the cultural legacy of Black roller skating traditions with a contemporary, community-centered experience.

The celebration is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s “Spotlight 250 Programs” and the Smithsonian’s Our Shared Future: 250 campaign. 

“The Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum is excited to continue our long-standing tradition of commemorating Juneteenth with the local community,” said Katelynd Anderson, the museum’s interim director. “Our theme this year, ‘Power in the Past, Strength in the Future,’ invites visitors to connect with each other and celebrate our shared history as we all look forward to the nation’s Semiquincentennial in July.”

Schedule of Events

Everyday Herbalism and Modern-Day Pickling
Community Garden
10 a.m.–noon 
Led by Derek Thomas and Madea Allen of Organic Soul Chef, this hands-on workshop explores the cultural significance of herbs and preservation traditions. Participants will learn about the role of herbalism and tinctures in the African American experience, create herb-infused vinegars, make tinctures and pickle fresh vegetables to take home.

The Art of Roller Skating: “Style” Roller Skating as American Folk Art
Program Room
10 a.m.–11:30 a.m. 
Featuring Tasha Klusmann, founder of the National African American Roller Skate Archive, this presentation positions Black roller skating as a vibrant American folk art tradition, drawing on historical research, archival images and short-form documentary footage.

What’s Cracking: History and Culture of the Black Community and Shellfish
Program Room
Noon–1:30 p.m.
This fireside chat explores the deep-rooted connection between Black communities and the shellfish culture of the Chesapeake Bay. Featuring Ricardo, owner of Who Want Smoke Charbroiled Oyster (WWSCO), and Imani Black, founder of Minorities in Aquaculture. Moderated by Adrian Miller, two-time James Beard Award-winning author.

Rooted Recipes
Plaza
10 a.m.–10 p.m.
An interactive recipe exchange inviting visitors to leave a recipe and take a recipe, sharing personal or family dishes that carry cultural significance and stories of resilience, migration and tradition.

Main Stage Performances
Main Stage
Noon–7 p.m.
Hosted by Sir Harvey Fitz, the main stage will feature an impressive lineup of Washington-area performers. Local favorite DJ Heat kicks off the celebration. “Play Back Theater” brings interactive performances with a full cast of professional actors, musicians and storytellers. Autumn LaBella, a music producer, percussionist, vocalist and emcee, will perform as will the Black Alley Band, whose genre-melding fusion of go-go, trap, rock, funk and soul is led by vocalist Kacey Williams. The Chuck Brown Band carries on the legacy of the “Godfather of Go-Go,” led by Wiley Brown. Rapper and producer IDK headlines and closes out the event with his signature storytelling style of verse.

Imagination Station
Flag Pole
1 p.m.–4 p.m.
Face painting and airbrushed tattoos will be offered for youth and the young at heart.

“We Hold These Truths” Storytelling Stations
Museum Program Room
2 p.m.–6 p.m.
As part of a nationwide initiative from the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, visitors, artists and staff are invited to participate in short, 5-to-10-minute recorded interviews sharing their personal connections to place, culture and community history. Named after the famous preamble to the Declaration of Independence, this flexible documentation project grapples with what American principles mean to people today, capturing a broad range of diverse stories that will be collected at 20 festivals across the country and U.S. territories throughout the year.

“These Truths: My Community, Our Story”
Museum Program Room
7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Local poets will explore themes of place, community identity and the vital role that cultural gatherings like Juneteenth play in people’s lives through a series of spoken word performances and reflections. Featured poets include Khadijah Coleman and Dwayne Lawson-Brown.

Juneteenth Late Skate
Parking Lot
7 p.m.–10 p.m.
After the main stage winds down, the celebration continues with a high-energy outdoor skating experience as DJ B Sharp spins into the night.

“We Make History” Exhibition
Museum Gallery
Extended hours, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. 
The museum’s new exhibition explores how history happens and is preserved and shared, anchored by stories of Washingtonians whose legacies as change makers and history keepers have had generational impact. Objects on view include the family diary of Adam Francis Plummer, believed to be the only known example of a multigenerational diary started by an enslaved person in the United States; singer Marian Anderson’s coat; a guitar belonging to Chuck Brown, the “Godfather of Go-Go”; and a jersey from the Washington Spirit, the city’s professional women’s soccer team.

The schedule and events are subject to change without prior notice. The Juneteenth Freedom Celebration is free and open to the public. For details on transportation, food available for purchase from local food trucks and more, visit the museum website. This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s “Our Shared Future: 250,” a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years. 

About Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the celebration of the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas who were formally notified of their freedom June 19, 1865. Although Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia in April 1862 and the territories in June 1862, it took over two years for the news to reach Texas. Since 1865, Juneteenth has been celebrated in communities throughout the country with a variety of activities, including picnics, parades, music, speeches, dancing and baseball. The tradition was brought to the Washington area by Texans and formalized into a celebration at the Anacostia Community Museum in 1989.

About the Anacostia Community Museum

Founded in 1967, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum shares the untold and often overlooked stories of communities furthest from justice in the greater Washington, D.C., region. In celebrating stories of resiliency, joy and strength, the museum inspires those who visit to translate their ideas into action. For more information about the museum, visit anacostia.si.edu or follow the museum on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 

The Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage connects communities across cultures—cultivating curiosity, understanding and belonging for all people. The center is a research and educational unit of the Smithsonian that produces the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the online Folklife Magazine, exhibitions, symposia, publications and educational materials. It also maintains the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. For more information about the center, visit folklife.si.edu or follow the center on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. 

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Source: Smithsonian Institution