Why is Juneteenth Important? (www.nmaahc.si.edu)

Frederick Douglass once famously asked, “What to a slave is the Fourth of July?” To honor the anniversary of the freedom granted to those enslaved African Americans, we’ve pondered a similar question, “What is the significance of Juneteenth to the Black community?” In this three-part series we interviewed three experts at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to find the answer: Mary Elliot, Curator of American slavery, and emancipation; Angela Tate, Museum Curator of African American women's history; and Kelly E. Navies, Museum Specialist of Oral history.  

In our previous post, NMAAHC staff explored the identities of the people who celebrate the holiday as well as the cultural and historical significance they place upon the date. In this, the third and final part of our discussion, we asked each curator to answer the question: Why is Juneteenth Important? 

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