6 ways to celebrate Juneteenth Day in Milwaukee this year

By Ana Martinez-Ortiz Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Published Jun 18, 2021 at 3:01 PM Photography: Allison Dikanovic

This will be the 50th year that Milwaukee celebrates Juneteenth Day, which commemorates the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first heard that the Civil War was over and that they were free.

Juneteenth Day takes place every year on June 19.

While the pandemic affected last year’s celebration, groups throughout Milwaukee are preparing to celebrate both in person and virtually. Check out the list of Juneteenth Day celebrations below.

1. Northcott Neighborhood House parade and pageant

Northcott Neighborhood House is celebrating its 50th annual Juneteenth Day. The parade will kick off at North 14th Street and West Atkinson Avenue and head toward West Burleigh Street and North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 19. The opening ceremonies and ensuing festival will take place on King Drive between West Burleigh Street and West North Avenue from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be vendors, entertainment, community resources and food and drink. Attendees are required to wear face masks.

2. Bike Your Block: A Juneteenth Day group bike ride

RISE Cycles is hosting Bike Your Block, a solidarity ride to celebrate Juneteenth Day or Emancipation Day and in honor of Black lives. The group will meet at the Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 19. To register for the event, click here. Following the bike ride there will be free refreshments, bike clinics, giveaways and more.

DreamBikes will lead a group ride to Bike Your Block event. Cyclists will meet at DreamBikes, 2021A N. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., to bike over to the Sherman Phoenix at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 19.

3. Safe & Sound’s virtual celebration

Safe & Sound is doing a virtual Juneteenth Day celebration. The event will feature singers, dancers and spoken word artists. It will focus on rebuilding Black Wall Street through youth entrepreneurship. The celebration will stream live on Safe & Sound’s Facebook and YouTube pages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 19.

4. Alice’s Garden’s Juneteenth Day celebration

Alice’s Garden, 2136 N. 21st St., is throwing a Juneteenth Day celebration from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 19. There will be music, food and various activities. Gwen Holland, a genealogist known for her passion in documenting and preserving African American lineages, will discuss genealogy from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. as part of the festivities. Monica White, the author of “Freedom Farmers,” will discuss her book from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Alice’s Garden will also plant Mandela’s garden from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 19. The event is a part of the garden’s Juneteenth Day celebration and its partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum for the “Mandela: Official Exhibition,” currently on display.

5. Vibez Creative Arts Space Juneteenth Day painting

Vibez Creative Arts Space will join the Juneteenth Day celebration at Alice’s Garden, 2136 N. 21st St. The locally owned business will do an in-person painting event starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 19. Tickets can be purchased here and cost $13.77. Supplies can be picked up at the Vibez Creative Arts Space, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave. after 3 p.m. on Friday, June 18.

6. Juneteenth Day Sickle Cell-Abration blood drives

Versiti is honoring Juneteenth Day and World Sickle Cell Awareness Day with blood drives. According to Versiti, 1 in 13 African American babies are born with the sickle cell trait. There will be three blood drives happening in Wisconsin on Saturday, June 19. Here are the locations and times: