Update: The New York City Department of Sanitation announced that “there will be no trash, curbside compost, or recycling collection on Juneteenth, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Residents who normally receive Wednesday trash, curbside compost, or recycling collection should place their material at the curb Wednesday evening for collection beginning Thursday, June 20. Please note that residents may experience collection delays, as is common after holidays. We appreciate patience as we work to collect the backlog of material. For questions about Sanitation services and holiday schedules contact 311 or visit nyc.gov/sanitation.”
By Carol Tannenhauser
Juneteenth, a blend of the words June and nineteenth, is the nation’s youngest federal holiday, so designated on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act” into law.
The legislation was bipartisan, except for 14 Republican representatives, “some of whom argued that calling the new holiday Juneteenth Independence Day, echoing July 4, would create confusion and force Americans to choose a celebration of freedom based on their race,” according to The New York Times.
But June 19, 1865, was, in fact, the day that the final enslaved people in America were informed of their freedom in Galveston, Texas — two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and two-and-a half months after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, ending the Civil War.
Where to Celebrate Juneteenth on the UWS
Central Park — Since its designation as a federal holiday, Juneteenth has gone from a little-known holiday to a time of national celebrations, including events on the Upper West Side, beginning this Saturday, June 15, in Central Park when Juneteenth returns to Seneca Village.
For those who may not know, Seneca Village was the once-thriving African-American village that stretched along the western perimeter of Central Park from West 82nd to West 89th Street.
The City acquired the land through eminent domain to build the Park, and roughly 1,600 inhabitants were displaced throughout the area,” according to the Central Park Conservancy, which is throwing a party to honor Seneca Village’s “Spirit of Community.” The traditions of its residents will be celebrated through rousing musical performances and family-friendly activities.
The events take place between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Enter at West 85th Street and Central Park West, and the events progress throughout the Seneca Village landscape.
For more information and the full lineup of events, click — HERE.
Lincoln Center — On Wednesday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m., in conjunction with Carl Hancock Rux’s 2024 Juneteenth Celebration, Toshi Reagon’s participatory Songs of the Living Community Choir, supported by her band BIG LOVELY and special guests, sing songs of freedom, in Damrosch Park, located on Amsterdam Avenue and West 62nd Street. The performance is FREE.
“It is a collaborative concert that first and foremost acknowledges the ongoing fight for justice and equality that is our necessary struggle and birthright,” the Lincoln Center website says.
For advice on how to best access the concert, click — HERE.
The following are closed on Juneteenth: schools; non-essential federal, state, and city government offices; the United States Postal Service; banks; the stock market; and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Online banking and ATMs are available, and UPS and FedEx are open.
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Sorry but that is just dumb.
Nothing dumb about celebrating the end of slavery… what is wrong with you
Woah – what is dumb? Lots of celebrations or events written about in WSR may not be to your taste, may not get you out of the house – but neither the holiday nor the celebrations described here are “dumb”. Seems a low bar for grouchiness here, even by WSR comments standards.
I first encountered Juneteenth celebrations in Texas, where of course the day has special local resonance – I’d never heard of it before I lived there 20 years ago. I’d studied plenty of American history at good schools, but not about this. The lesson of my own ignorance about such a wonderful/tragic/American historical marker, was instructive to me, almost as much as the history was good to know.
Are schools closed? What about mail & trash / recycle /
Thanks, Jo. Added.
Thank you. I was aware of the event at Lincoln Center and have attended in 2022 & 2023. I was not aware of the celebration on Saturday, June 15, in Central Park for “Juneteenth returns to Seneca Village”. I will attend that one as well.