Arizona Historical Society hosts annual Juneteenth celebration

The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) will host their Annual Juneteenth Celebration at the Arizona Heritage Center in partnership with Arizona State University Library’s Black Collections and the Black Family Genealogy and History Society.

AHS presents this day of celebration and education as a way to highlight and recognize the various roads many African Americans have traveled to uplift community voices in Arizona. These roads to freedom are the focus and theme. This event provides the opportunity to collaborate with community partners and collect, preserve and share the history of Arizona’s African American communities.

Joining Arizona Horizon to discuss the details were Jessica Salow, Assistant Archivist of Black Collections at Arizona State University Library, and Todd Bailey, Special Projects Coordinator at Arizona Historical Society.

At this free event, guests will have the opportunity to mingle, take in live experiences and wander through the museum’s exhibits. Live entertainment including dancers, music and spoken word artists, will also be available.

There will be a grand opening of Arizona Historical Society’s newest exhibit, “Hallelujah Hats!” created by Bruce Nelson, who appeared on an episode of “Black in Arizona” which you can watch here.

“There are so many different groups and partners participating, entertainment and people who have been around for forever,” Bailey said.

Connecting and networking is crucial for this event. Salow said unfortunately you come around people who are not aware of other black communities, so it is important to connect everyone and inform them of their history.

The celebration will be on June 18 in Tempe from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.