Juneteenth 2023 at BlackRock Center for the Arts - June 17, 2023

The Office of Human Rights providing opportunities to explore, celebrate and engage in the arts, is pleased to host the Annual Juneteenth Journey to Freedom Celebration, June 17, 2023, from 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the BlackRock Center for the Arts located at 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD 20874.

Headlining this year’s event is The Chuck Brown Band. “The Godfather of Go-go,” Chuck Brown is the undisputed sole founder and creator of Go-go music, a hypnotically danceable genre deeply rooted in funk and soul that he developed in the early 70’s, and the only form of expressive culture to originate in D.C.. Chuck recorded with artists as diverse as Thievery Corporation, Brian Culbertson, Jeff Majors, and Kindred the Family Soul. A street in Washington D.C. was renamed “Chuck Brown Way.” In September 2010, Brown released an ambitious three-disc set, “We Got This,” which includes the Grammy nominated song LOVE featuring Jill Scott with Marcus Miller. Chuck Brown & His Band have appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show with The Roots, the Mo’Nique show, NPR’s Tiny Desk Unit, and NPR’s World Café. The National Symphony Orchestra paid tribute to Chuck Brown in September 2011 with 2 commissioned works of orchestral arrangements and a performance on the West Lawn of the US Capitol.

The event will feature traditional events like the award recognition ceremony and Juneteenth inspired food. This year’s “Journey to Freedom,” we Acknowledge, Educate, and Celebrate while tracing the African American struggle for freedom through education, art, dance, music and honoring our elders. New this year, the festivities will include Trail of Knowledge educational passport activities, experiential-based educational activities to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, a historical journey of African American Music and artistic entertainment, and food trucks, all designed for the whole family. Activities will take place both inside and on the lawn of the arts center and the Germantown Town Center Urban Park. On June 16th we will again present Montgomery County’s African American Living Legends Awards.

The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights and the County Executive’s African American Advisory Group are coordinating the program in partnership with the BlackRock Center for the Arts to commemorate the 158th anniversary of the events of June 19, 1865. On that day, Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its enslaved persons. The event today is known as Juneteenth and is celebrated widely across the United States.