PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Celebrations around the U.S. are marking Thursday as Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Texas.
An organization that promotes African American history and culture in New Hampshire got an early start commemorating the holiday, even as President Donald Trump’s administration works to ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, in the federal government and is removing content about Black American history from federal websites.
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire orchestrated a weekslong celebration that will culminate with a community dance and rededication of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park in Portsmouth.
Those who planned the history tours, community discussions and other events in New Hampshire said they wanted to highlight contradictions in the familiar narratives about the nation’s founding fathers ahead of next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“Although they are historically courageous, smart men, they were also human. They held people in bondage. They had children with their enslaved,” said JerriAnne Boggis, the Heritage Trail’s executive director. “What would the story look like if the story of America was told from these Black descendants?”
Juneteenth has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations, but became more widely observed after former President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday in 2021. It is recognized at least as an observance in every state, and nearly 30 states and Washington, D.C., have designated it as a permanent paid or legal holiday through legislation or executive action.
During his first administration, Trump issued statements each June 19, including one that ended with “On Juneteenth 2017, we honor the countless contributions made by African Americans to our Nation and pledge to support America’s promise as the land of the free.”
This year’s celebratory events come amid bitter national debates about Trump’s travel ban on visitors from select countries and his administration’s many anti-DEI initiatives.
New Hampshire, one of the nation’s whitest states, is not among those with a permanent, paid or legal Juneteenth holiday, and Boggis said her hope that lawmakers would take action making it one is waning.
“I am not so sure anymore given the political environment we’re in,” she said. “I think we’ve taken a whole bunch of steps backwards in understanding our history, civil rights and inclusion.”
Still, she hopes New Hampshire’s events and those elsewhere will make a difference.
“It’s not a divisive tool to know the truth. Knowing the truth helps us understand some of the current issues that we’re going through,” she said.
And if spreading that truth comes with a bit of fun, all the better, she said.
“When we come together, when we break bread together, we enjoy music together, we learn together, we dance together, we’re creating these bonds of community,” she said. “As much was we educate, we also want to celebrate together.”