New London’s Hempsted Houses welcomes community members to its 9th annual Juneteenth Festival, a three-day celebration of progress towards freedom in the United States. Join us on Friday evening for a Campfire Conversation, Saturday for the Juneteenth Celebration, and Sunday morning to reflect during Sunday Services under the tent.

While the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, Union soldiers in the Civil War were not able to enforce it in areas still under Confederate control. It was not until June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that 250,000 enslaved people in the state had been freed. The date became known as Juneteenth — America’s second independence day — and was long celebrated among African American communities as a celebration of resilience and hope in difficult times. In 2021, Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday.

The Hempsted Houses are proud to partner with organizations like OIC New London, the New London chapter of the NAACP, the New London County Historical Society and the Slave Dwelling Project to commemorate this holiday, and celebrate the history of our site and the neighborhood in which it thrives, one of the earliest historically Black neighborhoods in the country. We hope to see you at this weekend’s festival!

See the full event details here »