Photo above: Angel McCambry, left, and Na'ilah Bakare pose for a photo during the "Downtown at Sundown" event hosted by the Johnson County Iowa Juneteenth Commemoration on June 17, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa.

Friend –

It wasn't until June 19, 1865, that the enslaved Black people of Galveston, Texas, got word that two years before, slavery in the United States had been abolished. There must have been grief and anger, and yet there was also joy. That community threw a celebration so memorable that we now replicate it more than a century later.

Celebrate with us! Check out a list of Juneteenth events in Iowa compiled by Black Iowa News so you can choose joy, too. Please note: This link will take you to a third-party website, blackiowanews.com.

One of the largest celebrations will be Saturday, June 17, in Cedar Rapids at the African American Museum of Iowa. Please note: This link will take you to a third-party website, blackiowa.org.

We have yet to make many of the bold, structural changes that are needed to address systemic racism. But for the moment, let's celebrate freedom and the richness of Black culture and community in Iowa.

Happy Juneteenth,

ACLU of Iowa Staff