FREEDOM TO CELEBRATE: Hamilton-Garrett Drumline Performance

Juneteenth celebrations kick-off the day with a dynamic performance and procession led by the Hamilton-Garrett Drumline!

Established in 2022, the Hamilton-Garrett Drumline is a percussion and horn ensemble for Boston youth aged 10-18. Hamilton-Garrett’s mission is based on preserving and celebrating marching style drumming within Black musical traditions – pulling from the New Orleans second-line, historically Black colleges and universities, and African Diaspora folkloric traditions. Drumming has a lot of significance to the history of Juneteenth, when it was used during the Civil War as a form of resistance, and communication.

Come experience this chorus of drums, and imagine what they might be communicating to each other!

Celebrate Juneteenth!
Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that recognizes the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This amendment outlawed the practice of enslaving people in America. For 246 years, generations of African American families were viewed as property, to be owned by another human being. Enslaved African Americans were bought, sold, separated from loved ones, forced to work without wages, and suffered inhumane conditions.

Juneteenth honors the “freedom fighters” and generations who came before us, as much as it recognizes their persistence towards freedom and restitution.

This year, Boston Children’s Museum celebrates Juneteenth with a variety of music, dance, and artmaking activities developed in collaboration with community organizations, independent artists, museum educators, and local entrepreneurs. Through these partnerships, the Museum highlights the ingenuity of African American artistic traditions born out of resistance. These practices continue to flourish and fuel modern day movements which advocate for the importance of speaking out against injustices of any kind.