The fourth annual Newport Juneteenth celebration was held at Fort Adams State Park on Saturday, June 20, an expanded event that paired the holiday with a Rhode Island 250th anniversary theme honoring the history of Black and Indigenous people across the state.
Presented by Rhode Island Slave History Medallions, the daylong program opened with a reenactors’ parade and an honorary musket salute before turning to tributes from civic leaders, including a keynote address by Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore and remarks by Governor Dan McKee.
The parade ground program continued through the afternoon with presentations by historians, youth activities, craft vendors and food trucks, alongside performances tied to the 250th theme. The lineup featured colonial music, Indigenous dancing and drumming by the Thawn Harris family of the Narragansett people, a performance by members of the Pokanoket Tribe, a drum circle led by African drummer Sidy Maiga and a gospel performance by RPM Voices of Rhode Island.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it took effect freeing enslaved people in the Confederate states.
RISHM, a statewide nonprofit, works to educate Rhode Islanders about the state’s role in the history of slavery by sharing documented stories of enslaved people. More information is available at rishm.org.
