Celebrating Juneteenth with Events, Soul Food, and Books

A few years ago, I wrote a post for the Port of Seattle Blog titled “Juneteenth and Other Celebrations and Traditions.” Juneteenth is a new holiday for some people. In addition to a brief history, this year I included more details about my favorite restaurants as well as recommendations of books for learning more about Black history.

Juneteenth, which is short for June Nineteenth, commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Liberation Day, and Freedom Day. It marks the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.

Brief history

President Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, and a final proclamation on January 1, 1863.
The proclamations pertained to states that seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in states loyal to the Union. Parts of the Confederacy already under Union control were also excluded.
After the defeat of the Confederacy, slavery remained legal until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution on December 6, 1865.
Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of federal troops in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. When freedom was known, celebrations broke out among the freed people.
The following June 19, freed men organized what would become an annual celebration, and Juneteenth was born.
Over the years, participation in Juneteenth traditions grew in Texas and spread across the country as Blacks migrated out of the South.
In 1980, Texas was the first state to make it a state holiday, and other states joined over the years.
Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday in June 2021, and President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.

Although Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, it had been recognized as a holiday by the Port of Seattle since November 20, 2020. Juneteenth has been celebrated at the Port of Seattle since 2003; I always enjoy the speakers, vendors, and food at these wonderful events.

How to celebrate

Juneteenth is celebrated and observed in different ways. One way is sharing food (be it barbecue, a fish fry, or another cookout) with friends and family. Some festivities are rounded out with music, dancing, and games like dominoes, bid whist, and spades. Red drinks are served to symbolize perseverance and honor blood that was shed. Because Juneteenth, like the Fourth of July, is a celebration of freedom, fireworks are also common. Many use the day as an opportunity to support black-owned businesses, as a day of prayer, or a day of learning.

Here are a few public events happening around Puget Sound.

Juneteenth events

The Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) will hold an event Wednesday, June 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to celebrate community and Black history. Admission to the museum will be free, and attendees will have the opportunity to experience two exhibits on display: Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See and Interrupting Privilege. There will also be arts and crafts for children and a book giveaway.

Africatown will offer live performances, vendors, and family activities on Wednesday, June 19 from noon to 8:00 p.m. at Jimi Hendrix Park. Learn more on its Summer of Soul events.

Atlantic Street Center is holding an event on Saturday, June 22 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Rainier Beach Community Center. It will feature local vendors, food, performances, speakers, raffles, family-friendly activities, and a resource fair.

UW Medicine is holding an event at Othello Park on June 22 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. It will include music, dance performances, and soul food.

For those who live in or near Tacoma, a Juneteenth Celebration will take place June 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Stewart Heights Park. There will be vendors, food trucks and food vendors, the Miss Juneteenth Pageant, performances, resources (education, financial, job, and career), and a play zone for children (bouncy houses, games, and arts and crafts).

Throughout the month of June, nonprofit The Sophia Way is running a Black hair care donation drive.

National Soul Food Month

June is also National Soul Food Month. Sunday dinners are a long-standing tradition in the Black community full of tasty soul food. Here are some of my favorite restaurants. On a side note, I meant to take pictures of the food but, alas, once the food was placed in front of me, I forgot and promptly dug in, so I have included pictures from a holiday dinner.

Southern Kitchen is one of my favorite soul food restaurants in this area. For me, it’s all about the sides, particularly cornbread dressing and gravy, candied yams, fried okra, and mac and cheese. I am especially fond of their cornbread dressing because the recipe is close to what I ate growing up. It also has a great breakfast menu. The Tacoma restaurant is a quick trip for those of us who live in Seattle.

Fat’s Chicken and Waffles is a popular Central Area spot for weekend brunch, so a line forms before they open. I love Fat’s Breakfast (grits, sausage links, and a biscuit for me). The dinner menu is also quite tasty. Again, I am about the sides, particularly grits, fried green tomatoes, mac and cheese, and rice and sausage gravy; the latter has a kick. The restaurant also has happy hour with great food choices.

Communion is another great Central Area restaurant. This article reveals a lot about me; I again focus on the sides. My favorite item on the menu is fried cabbage. My second favorite item is “Daily Greens,” which are always enjoyable. The “BetterThanYoGrandmas Mac Cheese” is quite tasty and big enough to share.

For years, I have bemoaned the gentrification of food like oxtails. If you love oxtails but like me have sticker shock, visit Just Like Home Jamaican Kitchen in South Seattle for delicious oxtails at an affordable price. I can’t find a website, but here is a link to the menu.

Other Seattle area restaurants to try are Simply Soulful (Central Area), Classic Eats (Burien), Island Soul (Columbia City), and Jerk Shack (Central Area).

Black history

If you want to learn more about Black history, visit NAAM and a Black-owned bookstore.

Here are some books to start with:

From Slavery to Freedom by John Hope Franklin
The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois
A Voice from the South by Anna J. Cooper
Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward
Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley by Malcom X
The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America by Nicholas Lemann