SPRINGFIELD – The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will celebrate freedom this month with an array of special Juneteenth activities, including a display of the Emancipation Proclamation, theatrical events, a free day of admission and a presentation by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
Visitors can also enjoy the museum’s new exhibit, “The Second American Revolution,” which includes a copy of the constitutional amendment ending slavery in America. This marks the first time in more than a decade that the public will be able see the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment – each signed by Lincoln himself – at the same time.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, who won journalism’s top award for her work on the New York Times’s “The 1619 Project,” will speak at the museum and sign books June 15. The event is called “Free-ish: Juneteenth and the Long Legacy of 1619” and is presented in conjunction with Juneteenth Inc., the University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies and the UIS Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality, & Social Justice.
Starting as a local holiday in Galveston, Texas, Juneteenth has grown into a national celebration of slavery’s demise in America. A key moment in the march toward freedom was Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which ordered an end to enslavement for millions of Americans. “Few documents in all of American history carry the weight of the Emancipation Proclamation. We are proud to share it with the public and celebrate its connection to such a joyous holiday,” said Christina Shutt, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
ALPLM events for Juneteenth are:
- “The Nature of Freedom”: This readers theater presentation features the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Langston Hughes, Harriet Tubman and more. Performances take place at noon on June 11, 13, 17 and 19. There also is a 6:30 p.m. performance on June 18. The evening event is free, but seats must be reserved in advance.
- Emancipation Proclamation: on display 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the library building weekdays from June 12 through June 19. One special weekend display will take place Saturday, June 13. There will be no charge to see the proclamation.
- Community Celebration: The ALPLM will have an activity tent at Springfield’s Juneteenth Celebration in Comer Cox Park on Saturday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children can design their own buttons, and we’ll be giving away free Lincoln swag and a museum membership.
- Nikole Hannah-Jones: Her presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 15. Tickets are free, but seats must be reserved in advance.
- Free admission: No charge to visit the museum on June 19, a state holiday.
- “Glory”: The ALPLM will screen the movie “Glory,” which tells the story of Black soldiers fighting and dying for freedom during the Civil War, on June 19. The free event takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the museum’s Union Theater. Tickets are free, but seats must be reserved in advance.
For details on the events and to reserve seats, please visit www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov/Juneteenth.
The ALPLM recently opened its latest special exhibit, “The Second American Revolution.” It examines the progress America made toward equal treatment for African Americans freed from slavery and then the successful efforts to reverse that progress through violence, political deals and discriminatory court rulings. The exhibit features two items particularly linked to Juneteenth: the pen Lincoln held when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and a copy of the 13th Amendment, signed by Lincoln, which banned slavery across America.
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing anyone enslaved in states trying to secede from the Union. But the proclamation could not be enforced until federal troops captured Southern territory. That meant many people remained in chains until the end of the Civil War. Among them were the enslaved people of Galveston, Texas, who achieved freedom with the arrival of federal troops on June 19, 1865. The anniversary of that “Juneteenth” became an annual celebration that gradually spread across the country and came to symbolize the end of slavery, although that was not totally abolished until the 13th Amendment was ratified six months later.
The ALPLM’s copy of the proclamation is one of about two dozen remaining. It is signed by both Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward.
The presidential library and museum offers an online tool letting people around the world explore the Emancipation Proclamation, its meaning and its impact on history. Just click on key words in the document and up pop boxes full of helpful information. The site includes educational resources for teachers and parents, a photo gallery and links to other sources of information about the address. The site www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov/EmancipationProclamation.
The mission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is to inspire civic engagement through the diverse lens of Illinois history and share with the world the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. We pursue this mission througha combination of rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship built on the bedrock of the ALPLM’s unparalleled collection of historical materials – roughly 13 million items from all eras of Illinois history.
For more information, visit www.PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov. You can follow the ALPLM on Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram.
