Every year on June 19, we observe Juneteenth—also known as “Freedom Day,” “Liberation Day,” or “Emancipation Day”—a commemoration of the true, full emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
The origin of this day traces back to June 19, 1865, when the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas, bringing word that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were now free. Although President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, on January 1, 1863, enforcement of that order had been delayed in Confederate-controlled areas like Texas.
When the news finally reached the people of Texas, the newly freed communities marked the day with celebration, and it became known simply as “Juneteenth.”
In honor of Juneteenth, both Ringling College of Art and Design and Sarasota Art Museum will be closed, but there are plenty of ways to celebrate around town.
Sarasota Art Museum exhibitions
The Museum will be closed on Juneteenth, but it has several exhibitions that highlight the history, present, and futures of African Americans.
Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of Paulson Fontaine Press
Featuring works by 17 artists, this nationally traveling exhibition celebrates African American artists who are reshaping the contemporary art world, including Martin Puryear, Kerry James Marshall, and the Gee’s Bend Quilters. With 46 fine art prints, a selection of Gee’s Bend Quilts, four mixed media sculptures, and a large-scale basketball pyramid installation, this exhibition showcases a diverse array of artworks by both high-profile and underrepresented visual artists. Drawing from themes of history, identity, and spirituality, the artists included in this exhibition share complex stories of the African American experience through the artworks only they could create.
Chris Friday: Where We Never Grow Old
Multidisciplinary artist Chris Friday invites visitors into imagined sanctuaries in her first solo museum exhibition. Best known for her large-scale, yet intimate, figurative chalk drawings, Friday explores the literal and metaphorical safe havens we create. Taking inspiration from themes of nostalgia, family, culture, and spirituality, Friday creates an alternate reality through her art—a world untouched by the hardships and injustices of real life. Tender depictions of Black figures resting peacefully and ceramics representing everyday items that conjure comfort for the artist make up this world, portrayed in a larger-than-life scale. Gold-embellishments adorn Friday’s ceramics, a meaningful reference to the age-old tradition of bronzing precious childhood keepsakes.
How to Celebrate Juneteenth in Sarasota and Manatee County
The Historic Leonard Reid House will host Community Care: Textiles Workshop tonight, Tuesday, June 17, from 6-7:15 pm. Dominique Goden will give a workshop on how to protect and preserve treasured family textiles. Participants should bring a small family heirloom, like napkins, ties, or handkerchiefs. The event is free to attend, but registration is required.
Mayors’ Feed the Hungry Program Juneteenth Food Drive Giveaway will take place on Saturday, June 21, at the Mount Raymond Baptist Church, 2410 Fourth Ave. E., Palmetto, mayorsfeedthehungry.org. The free public event will include a food drive giveaway and a free lunch cookout from 10 am-2 pm.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s third annual Juneteenth Arts Festival, will take place on Sunday, June 22, featuring live performances, art, short films by local filmmakers and students from the Ringling College of Art and Design, the screening of Soul Crooners – The Documentary, which discusses the history of the group and was filmed as the troupe was getting ready to perform at the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem North Carolina.
This free event will be held on the WBTT campus (1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota) from 11 am-7 pm.
Art and resources at the Library
The Alfred R. Goldstein Library has physical and digital resources on Juneteenth and anti-racism for visitors to explore. Their summer hours are Monday-Friday 8:30 am-4:30 pm, and closed on the weekends. Explore their LibGuides online or visit and check out their curated collection in person. Students, faculty, and staff can check out up to 40 books at a time.
On the second floor of Goldstein, visitors can explore the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center’s collection of works on paper and art books that share the history of radical Black activism, from Kara Walker’s pop-up book, Freedom, a Fable, to Brooklyn-based Char Jeré’s The periodic table of Black revolutionaries. Students, faculty, and staff can schedule a visit to explore the collection by using the signup form online and selecting a 45-minute appointment.
Header image: Installation view of Gees Bend Quilts and prints from Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of Paulson Fontaine Press at Sarasota Art Museum. Photo by Ryan Gamma.
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