Philly’s National Constitution Center celebrates Juneteenth with programs celebrating freedom fighters

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The National Constitution Center hosted special programming on Juneteenth to help inform the public about its historic significance.

“Juneteenth is known as the second independence day; it’s a really important part of the American story,” said Jenna Winterle Kehres, the director of learning and engagement at the National Constitution Center.

On Thursday, the museum allowed guests to visit for free. It hosted special programming and exhibits that further explored the history of American slavery, its aftermath and the United State’s initial independence and Constitution. Among the sessions and exhibits were a talk about the background of the holiday, crafting sessions where people could make their own Juneteenth flag and reenactors playing important figures who helped to end slavery.

“We like to really highlight the people — the people who fought to end slavery, the people who continued to fight for civil rights and equality even after the Civil War and Reconstruction,” Winterle Kehres said. “[The United States] were declaring that all men are created equal, but then creating a society that allows slavery.”

This paradox is what the museum tried to address with their Juneteenth programming, an occasion they’ve celebrated “long before it was recognized as a federal holiday,” Winterle Kehres said. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.

Visitors like Francis Atta said they came to the National Constitution Center to learn about American history as a whole, but picked up extra knowledge about Juneteenth.

“I learned about emancipation, the role of the president, the response of the states [and] the fact that each state responded differently,” said Atta, a student from Ghana currently studying foreign policy through the Study of the United States Institution program at the University of Delaware.

Philadelphia resident Joyce Umble said she was there, “to expose [my granddaughter] to some of the activities.”

In addition to introducing her granddaughter to Juneteenth, Umble came to the National Constitution Center looking to learn more herself about the holiday.

“What the museum is doing … is a great thing,” she said.

Throughout the day, the National Constitution Center had a crowd of individuals, families and tours visiting to learn more about the holiday and its relationship to the founding of the nation.

“Many people throughout American history have used the Declaration of Independence, the words of the Declaration, as inspiration to continue that fight,” Winterle Kehres said. “I think it’s our duty to tell the history.”

Editor’s Note: Nate Harrington’s WHYY News internship has been made possible thanks to the generous support from the Dow Jones News Fund O’Toole Family Foundation Internship.