Seattle is set to celebrate Juneteenth with a vibrant mix of familiar and new traditions, marking the fourth year of its recognition as a federal holiday. Juneteenth, typically celebrated June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the U.S.
learned they were free. The Northwest African American Museum, which has long been central to Seattle’s annual Juneteenth celebrations, recently announced a new addition to this year’s week of festivities around the metro area. Seen for the first time on the West Coast, the touring “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See” exhibit will open to the public at NAAM from June 13 through December.
NAAM visitors can view the exhibit for free on Juneteenth. The exhibit highlights the story of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, whose demands that the nation witness how white supremacists brutally tortured and murdered her son in 1955 Tennessee were part of a ripple effect that helped fuel the Civil Rights Movement. “I hope the impact will be a larger degree of awareness, especially in our community around him and his mother’s response to the brutality that he experienced,” said Brandon Bird, NAAM’s vice president of operations.
10 a.m.-3 p.
m. June 19; Northwest African American Museum, 2300 S. Massachusetts St.
, Seattle; free; naamnw.org If you’re hoping to get active for the holiday, Judkins Park will offer skates for rent, food vendors and music. 10 a.
m.-5 p.m.
; Judkins Park, .
