The line to enter Philadelphia’s African American Museum stretched a full block up Arch Street on Juneteenth Friday morning and never let up all day — not through performances by the West Powelton Steppers and not even when Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick took the stage.
History, whether from these hip-hop legends or the Black ancestors summoned by the crowd during the ritual pouring of libations, was all around.
“It’s important for me to be out and show my kids how we connect to our ancestors, how we connect to the present as well, and to be with community,” said Velena Flores, 47, an administrator at Jefferson Hospital. “My grandmothers, they all passed away. My father passed away, my uncles. So all the ancestors are gone.”
Walene White of Northeast Philadelphia came with her aunt, Tiffany White, and her 13-year-old daughter and niece. As she waited to enter the museum, she reveled in the energy of the day.
“We’re just breaking down Black history, breaking down the day of Juneteenth — the significance— and letting them come and see and enjoy the environment,” White said.
Inside the museum, Ronald Holmes, 66, of Oxford Circle wore his Josh Gibson No. 20 jersey and Homestead Grays cap, honoring the great Negro Leagues catcher.
On the first floor, Holmes encountered a new exhibit on Ona Judge, the young woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who escaped the presidential mansion in Philadelphia on May 21, 1796. She later settled in Portsmouth, N.H.
A few blocks away, at the site of the President’s House, controversy over how that history is presented continued. A federal appeals court ruling issued Thursday said the Trump administration can install its own slavery exhibits over the objections of the city of Philadelphia.
Inside the AAMP, though, Judge’s story was on full display. Created in collaboration with the Ona Judge Coalition, the exhibit includes video featuring some of the panels that the Trump administration fought to remove.
“Why would they fight so hard for that?” Holmes said. “And it’s our money they use to fight to take these things down, think about that, too. It’s mind boggling. But that tells you, the struggle is not over. We celebrate where we got to right now, but you know it’s not that final celebration.”
Founded in 1976 during the nation’s Bicentennial, the African American Museum in Philadelphia was the first institution funded and built by a major municipality to preserve, interpret, and exhibit the heritage of African American history and culture.
The Juneteenth Jubilee kicks off the 16-day Wawa Welcome America festival, which culminates in the city’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Juneteenth holiday, which former President Biden made a federal holiday in 2021, celebrates the day in 1865 when a Union general arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were free — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, attending the block party, said the museum played a “super huge role” in preserving the city’s history and that she remains committed to raising enough money to move the museum to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. There’s currently $50 million set aside for that move, she said.
After posing for photos with 6-year-old Salani Williams, the Little Miss Black America Ambassador, Parker she said the city would continue the legal fight to determine what is displayed at the President’s House site.
“We do need to think about what it looks like telling the true story of the birthplace of our nation,” she said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stopped by the museum in the afternoon and, after touring its exhibits, told reporters he would coordinate with Parker on the city’s response to the President’s House ruling.
“Look, it is unfortunate the president continues to try and whitewash our history,” Shapiro said. “I am not going to back down in the face of these attacks coming from the federal government against understanding our freedom, even the painful parts of it.”
The museum is also hosting “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design,” a touring exhibition featuring more than 80 original designs from the two-time Academy Award-winning costume designer from films including Black Panther, Sinners, Do the Right Thing, Coming 2 America, and Malcolm X.
By afternoon, an exuberant, old-school block party had taken over the space behind the museum as thousands danced to performances by Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Leah Jenea, and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
“There’s only one Philly baby,” Doug E. Fresh told the crowd before recounting the history behind Juneteenth. “A long time ago, when slavery existed, it was supposed to be ended and they extended it 2 1/2 years more. It was a crime. It was disrespectful. But as usual, Black people survived. And thrived.” .”
There were local performers, artists, food trucks, children’s activities, and a vendor village of jewelry and crafts.
Tyshia and Joseph Ingram displayed their “ABC Affirmations” flash cards from their business, Liberated Young, they started for their daughter.
“The day historically, but also what we’re going through in our country right now, is really important,“ Tyshia said. ”One of our favorite affirmations is F is for free.”
Ashley Jordan, the museum’s president and CEO, said she was excited about the museum’s role in the 250th celebration and its future.
The Ona Judge exhibit and the President’s House dispute, she said, “show why Black museums matter.”
“There was a time when the complete story wasn’t being told,” she said. “Entities like us matter so stories can be told unimpaired. It lives here as its own story, its own entity, complete with its own panels.”
The museum’s exhibit “Audacious Freedom” has been expanded to include modern Philadelphia heroes, she said. “You don’t have to look far for history,” she said. “There’s Leon Sullivan, Cecil B. Moore, and Patti LaBelle.”
Waiting in line, Tiffany White, 37, reflected on the holiday’s significance. “I can’t believe that it took so long to become a holiday,” she said. “And then people didn’t know, and two years later, they were still slaves? It’s crazy.”
Alaina Gibbs, an innovation strategist at Main Line Health, attended with about 50 colleagues through the health system’s Belonging and Inclusion employee resource group.
Gibbs and colleague Michelle Johnson, 47, said the visit was part of an effort to engage more with the community.
“Today was the perfect place to do that,” Johnson said.
Juneteenth is “really about how you look back at your roots, find your cultural connection, and it’s about observing the freedom that we all enjoy and celebrate,” Gibbs said. “It’s progress.”
Noting the communication breakdown at the heart of the Juneteenth story, Gibbs added: “It brings the community back together to celebrate the freedom and the communication that’s needed to keep community connections.”
“I like seeing the positivity and the togetherness right now in the city, this is the first time we’re coming together as a group from our organization,” Johnson said.
Flores, meanwhile, said she was mindful of the news surrounding the President’s House and other national debates but focused on the day’s celebration.
“I tell my kids we can get inundated with negative stuff every day,” she said. “The happiness and the love — that’s what I look for.”
