Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom

The Durand Hedden House & Garden Association and the South Orange Maplewood Community Coalition on Race will once again co-host Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom at Durand-Hedden House & Garden and the surrounding Grasmere Park, 523 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood, on Sunday, June 19, from 1pm to 5pm.

Activities will take place primarily outdoors and will include several well-known African-American historical reenactors, including Daniel Carlton, Teretha Jones, and Daisy Century. Face painting, games, storytelling, and crafts will be offered for children. Attendees will enjoy outdoor musical performances. A local chef, artisans, and booksellers will offer items for purchase.

Visitors can view the exhibit, Slavery in New Jersey: A Troubled History, which provides historical context for Juneteenth and the history of enslaved people in New Jersey. The book based on the exhibit, written by Durand-Hedden President Gail R. Safian and designed by John Branigan, earned the Kevin M. Hale Publications Award from the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey. The book was also chosen by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation as the basis for its curriculum section on slavery in New Jersey, part of a larger curriculum it developed for middle and high school students on African American history.

Admission to the program as well as to the house and exhibit is free; donations welcome. Registration is required. Sign up quickly and easily at this link, durandhedden.org, or facebook/durandhedden.