How to Celebrate Juneteenth & Pride Month in Morris County

Each year, the month of June marks an important moment of celebration and remembrance for both the Black and LGBTQ+ communities. Read on to learn the meaning behind these holidays and how you can celebrate in Morris County or at home this month!

What is Juneteenth?

Since 2021, June 19 has been officially recognized as Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday in the U.S. It commemorates the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce the end of slavery. This announcement came three whole years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, bringing the long-awaited celebratory news of freedom to many.

What is Pride Month?

All month long, celebrations take place in honor of the 1969 Manhattan Stonewall Uprising, which was a turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the U.S. Celebrations across the country, including pride parades, parties, workshops, and more, recognize the historical impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had throughout history. Memorials are also frequently held in June to honor LGBTQ+ community members who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. More info here.

Check out the list of resources below to see how you can participate in Juneteenth and Pride Month in our community.

Juneteenth and Pride Events:

• Check out this List of Places to Celebrate and Mark Juneteenth Throughout N.J.

• The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM), central New Jersey’s only Black history museum, will hold its first Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 18, from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

• Free Juneteenth Event at the Morris Museum

• Check out Morris Arts and Art in the Atrium's “Black Revival: A Celebration of Black Fine Art,” as part of the REEMERGENCE AND RENEWAL exhibit at the Atrium Gallery in Morristown.

• Join Denville Voices for Racial Justice on Saturday, June 18 for their Independence Day Celebration. More info here.

• Join NASW-NJ and NJ Institute for Social Justice’s Juneteenth Rally, where you can help raise voices to pass legislation for a Reparations Task Force (A938/S386), to invest in our youth and close our youth prisons, for same-day voter registration (A1966/S247) and for police accountability/CCRBs. More info here.

• Where to celebrate Pride Month 2022 in N.J.

• On June 25, join EDGE NJ at County College of Morris for Morris County Pride Festival from 10:30am-5pm. Entry is free!

• 1st Annual CARES Pride Event in Rockaway, NJ at 3:30pm

Things to Watch:

• Juneteenth: A Celebration of Overcoming, Hulu

• Miss Juneteenth, Amazon Prime

• 13th, Netflix

• Paris Is Burning, Netflix and YouTube

• The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson, Netflix

• How to Survive a Plague, Amazon Prime

However you choose to celebrate this month, remember that we can honor Black and LGBTQ history and culture year-round by supporting Black- and LGBTQ-owned businesses, artists, and authors, furthering our education, and working to be an ally each and every day!

Let's reflect, honor, and celebrate, together!