People gathered across the state Wednesday to enjoy food, perform and listen to live music, and celebrate Black history and culture during Juneteenth festivities.
Sweltering temperatures didn’t put much of a damper on a gathering at the African Burying Ground Memorial in downtown Portsmouth, where the celebrations included a drumming performance and workshop, and wrapped up with a Motown concert at the Music Hall Wednesday evening.
JerriAnne Boggis, who organized the event in Portsmouth as part of the state's Black Heritage Trail, said the holiday is only possible because of traditions carried on by Black Americans.
"Juneteenth really traveled as people left Texas and went all over,” she said. “It carried on as a celebration rooted in African American culture."
The holiday marks the day in 1865 when soldiers announced the Emancipation Proclamation and the formal end to slavery to enslaved people in Texas.
In Nashua, local businesses and community organizations hosted a citywide Juneteenth celebration Wednesday. In addition to food and music, the festivities included a poetry reading focused on Black history and culture.
When the day was an expression of joy, it was also a reminder — for some — of the progress still to be made. Jordin Lopez, a high school sophomore who volunteered at the event, said it can be hard to be one of the few students of color in her classes.
“For kids like us that grew up in Nashua, we don't really know about Juneteenth, we don't really know about the Black Lives Matter movement,” she said. “We don't really know about certain social issues that involve race, because I feel like they kind of hide it from us. Our school system is kind of failing us, just trying to keep us away from information that is going on in the world right now."
Lopez said she hopes more people learn the history behind the holiday and understand the continued racism still faced by Black Americans today.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, but it is not a formal state holiday in New Hampshire. Lawmakers here have defeated efforts to change that in recent years, including earlier this year. Opponents of the push to make Juneteenth an official New Hampshire state holiday say it could interfere with end-of-year school events and could require that state government offices close on a day when many private businesses are still open.
Since 2021, every other New England state — besides New Hampshire — has declared Juneteenth a state holiday.
