Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 each year. In 2024, the national holiday will fall on a Wednesday.
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and has been celebrated since 1865, when enslaved African Americans in Texas received the news that they were free.
The holiday is also known as “Freedom Day” or “Emancipation Day,” and in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the bill that made Juneteenth a federal holiday, per The New York Times.
In recent years, more and more communities have begun holding Juneteenth events.
Parents might feel hesitant to explain Juneteenth to their children because it involves the discussion of sensitive topics like race and slavery. But the holiday holds great importance, like other national holidays celebrated in the United States.
Here is what some experts suggest when it comes to talking with your kids about Juneteenth.
Talking about Juneteenth with kids
“Juneteenth is a time for celebration and reflection with the whole family,” says the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “For young children, the abstract concept of freedom and the hard history of slavery can be challenging to grasp.”
This is why, according to Aisha White, “you might not want to explain Juneteenth to kids if you don’t want to explain slavery to them. It may be too scary a topic for kids that aren’t old enough — and while children’s ability to understand and manage that kind of information varies, it’s safer to not start until they’re closer to 6 or 7 years old.”
Pittwire met with White, director of the Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education program at the University of Pittsburgh.
She emphasized that Juneteenth gave people both freedom and hope, which is something they’d yearned for for a long time.
“Telling this particular story offers an opportunity for kids to know how important it was for people who had been treated so badly for so long to begin to experience a whole new way of life — to be truly free — and that’s always something to celebrate,” she told Pittwire.
White also referred to a TED Talk by Beverly Daniel Tatum, former president of Spelman College. In the address, titled “Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk?” Tatum explained the concepts of race and slavery to her young son in a simple and succinct way.
White paraphrased what Tatum said in this way: “A long time ago, before there were companies, stores and buildings, there were some people who needed to work the land in the United States. There was a need for smart, strong workers — and they went to Africa and brought them to the United States against their will which wasn’t OK. They were people, but they were called slaves. Those people made them work, but never paid them and they were never allowed to leave the plantations where they worked; it was very unfair. But there were also good people who were working to end slavery, Black and white people, and they were eventually successful.”
What parents should be the most mindful of, according to White, is that conversations are important.
How to celebrate Juneteenth as a family
PBS Kids provided a few ideas for parents looking to do Juneteenth activities with their kids:
- Read books together. There are a variety of kid-friendly, educational books about Juneteenth. Consider finding one online or at the library and reading one or two with your child.
- Host a cookout. With summer in full-swing, now is a great time to cook good food and enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
- Go to a local celebration. See if there are any parades, festivals or Juneteenth-themed events in your area.