Juneteenth
Celebrate. Educate. Create.
About Juneteenth
Known as America’s Second Independence Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021 and a Minnesota state holiday in 2023. Since 2022, the Minnesota Humanities Center has hosted an annual series of commemorative events to cultivate greater awareness and understanding of America’s history.
250 years ago, the founders of our nation declared that all men are born with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. As we acknowledge the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, commemorating Juneteenth, celebrating the resiliency of African Americans, and examining whether the promise of America’s second Independence Day is being realized seems even more poignant.
We black folk, our history and our present being, are a mirror of all the manifold experiences of America. What we want, what we represent, what we endure is what America is. – Richard Wright
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Questions? Contact Casey DeMarais |
Our 2026 Juneteenth Events
Events
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Minneapolis – Juneteenth Brunch
Quincy Hall 1325 Quincy St NE, Minneapolis, MN, United StatesEarly Bird pricing on Individual Tickets and Full/Half Table registrations end on Tuesday, May 26! National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction winner, Clint Smith joins MHC’s CEO Kevin Lindsey for a conversation about Smith’s book, “How the Word is Passed: Remembering Slavery and How It Shaped America.”
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St. Paul – Feeding Our Souls: The Essence of Juneteenth Joy
St. Paul College 235 Marshall Ave, St. Paul, United StatesExperience the joy of community with a night of song, music, good conversation, and food from prominent local Black chefs.
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St. Paul – Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story, 30th Anniversary
The O’Shaughnessy at St. Catherine University 2004 Randolph Ave, St. Paul, MN, United StatesThis beloved stage performance brings the audience on a journey through time, to imagine impact of the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War.
Free
 The Making of America, Film PremiereSunday, June 28 – Minneapolis Institute of Art OMG Studios and MHC are excited to announce the premiere of their latest film, The Making of America, to be held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The premiere will include a film screening, post-screening panel discussion, and art exhibit. Call for Artists to Participate in The Making of America Film PremiereOMG Studios announces a call to artists for a juried art exhibition, Reconstruction 2.0: Allegories of a Better World, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, June 28, 2026. Artists are invited to submit original works which reflect the world they want to see. This exhibition is happening in conjunction with the release of film, The Making of America, a humanities documentary from OMG Studios and Minnesota Humanities Center, that examines how Enlightenment-era systems of knowledge—art, science, architecture, and cartography—produced enduring frameworks for racial slavery, territorial extraction, and Indigenous dispossession in what became the United States. Apply Now |
Explore ResourcesFrom Dr. Christopher P. Lehman, professor of Ethnic Studies at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota Book Award winner, MHC’s Ruth Reister Minnesota History Awardee, and featured thought leader in this years’ Juneteenth documentary film:
African American stories – books, videos and websites – housed in MHC’s Absent Narratives Resource Collection, sortable by grade level and content discipline Senses of Freedom: Exploring the Tastes, Sounds and Experiences of an African American Celebration from the National Museum of African American History and Culture Black and Thriving from the NAACP |
2026 Juneteenth Commemoration Sponsors
Corporate, community and philanthropic support help us bring programming to the people of Minnesota. Thank you to the following partners for their generous sponsorship of MHC’s 2026 Juneteenth commemoration.
