Brewster Celebrates Juneteenth

Wednesday marked the first town celebration of Juneteenth on the lower Cape, hosted by the Town of Brewster at Drummer Boy Park.

What was Brewster's Juneteenth Celebration?

21 JUNE 2024 - BREWSTER, MA -  In the Lower Cape’s first Juneteenth celebration, the town of Brewster organized activities at Drummer Boy Park on Wednesday, June 19. The town collaborated with Brewster Ladies Library, the Brewster Council On Aging, the Brewster Cultural Council and the Brewster Historical Society, bringing a variety of tours, educational programming and arts and craft activities to attendees. The celebration also included live jazz performances and an African drum and dance performance from Ammaya Dance and Drum. At the beginning of the celebration Wednesday morning, they held a reenactment and reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when a general made the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston, Texas. Two years after the proclamation was technically put into effect in 1863, this day was celebrated by freed Texans as the United States’ second independence day. Though some parts of the country, particularly around Galveston and Texas, have celebrated the holiday since 1866, it became an official federal holiday in 2021.

What connection does Cape Cod have to slavery and emancipation?

Though Massachusetts made slavery illegal in 1783, it was still present across the state and on Cape Cod into the 1800s. Throughout the abolition movement, Cape Cod held several safe havens for those traveling the Underground Railroad. Organizations such as the Atlantic Black Box are working to combat the common misconception that slavery was only a Southern problem by conducting research and sharing the history of slavery across New England.