New Yorkers across the city on Wednesday celebrated Juneteenth, the federal holiday that recognizes the emancipation of the enslaved in the United States.
Dozens of students from Hillside Elementary School in New Jersey joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials to celebrate a street co-naming in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Greene and Marcy Avenues in honor of the late American jazz drummer and composer Max Roach.
“Drums have the ability to reconnect us and each time he played, each time we heard the beat, it allows us an opportunity of that reconnection that we need,” Adams said.
In the Bronx, elected officials, including State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, commemorated the day all those who were enslaved in the United States were officially granted freedom with cultural performances, a rally and march.
“Here in New York State we actually made it a state holiday and then the feds follow,” Heastie said. “So as New York goes, the country goes.”
President Joe Biden made Juneteenth a national holiday in 2021.
Over in Times Square, hundreds of people showed up to watch the “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth” concert, organized by the Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative.
This year’s celebration featured an entirely Black Broadway cast of 35 performers representing 17 different musicals, including singer and actress Deborah Cox, who is currently starring as Glinda in the Broadway revival of “The Wiz.”
“This event is really special,” said Cox. “It’s a reminder of the progress that we’ve made. It’s a reminder of the progress that still needs to be done.”
Michael James Scott, who stars as Genie in the Broadway musical “Aladdin,” was this year’s concert host.
“We really want to send a message that Juneteenth is important so we’re sending the best of the best Black excellence right here in Times Square to celebrate that,” Scott said.
The concert also included the presentation of the Juneteenth Legacy Award to actress Phylicia Rashad, who counts a Tony Award among her many accolades.
This is the fourth year the Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert has been performed. The event is completely free and open to the public.
