2023 Summary Report

Madison’s Juneteenth Planning Committee each year develops programming to educate the overall Madison community on the historical accomplishments and contributions of
Americans of African descent. For the past 33 years the Juneteenth Day Celebration has been a catalyst for showcasing and promoting the rich heritage of our community both past and
present through various artistic genres. We provide an arena for this expression through the different components of the celebration: Main Stage, Heritage, Church, Old Skool Youth, and
Teens. Each component is housed in a vividly decorated tent. In celebration of its recognition as both a state of Wisconsin (2009) and Federal holiday (2021) the Madison Juneteenth Day Celebration has always compared the same significance to African Americans that the 4th of July has to all Americans, its liberation. It represents freedom, pride, and unity as a collective right to all African Diaspora communities in America.

The Celebration goals and mission is to improve the quality of life for Madison’s African-American community through positive reinforcement of its heritage as well as enhancing its ability to become a more effective part of the total Madison Community. The Celebration focus has been to unite Madison’s African American community. Goals for the Celebration are to:

• Unite Madison’s geographically, economically and socially divided black community, including its African and Caribbean segments, by celebrating our shared African heritage
• Provide information to educate the black community on health and social issues that impact our lives and connect community members with service providers that can meet our needs
• Build relationships between the black community and the greater Madison community by partnering with local business and agencies that provide funding or informational booths and by sharing our history with other member of the community
• Showcase the wealth of creative talent in the black community, particularly that of our youth, and to promote in them a health sense of pride, confidence and accomplishments
• Expose children to the richness of African and African-American culture and heritage, teach them about their community and provide by example the ability to celebrate life without the assistance of drugs, alcohol or any other mind- or mood-altering substances.

The Annual Juneteenth Day Celebration will be held on the 3rd Saturday in June in Penn Park. The outdoors venue has continued to be beneficial to the Celebration. It is the festive feel and the historical significance of Penn Park that makes it the most appropriate setting for the Celebration. The park is located in the heart of Madison’s south side community, which validates the Celebration within the context of the African-American community. The Annual Celebration held in Penn Park has attracted the highest being 15 – 8,000 and now averages about 3000 annually of Madison and Dane County residents from all walks of life. The Juneteenth Day Planning Committee’s mission was to bring Madison’s African-American community together to celebrate the riches of its shared experience, but in essence the Celebration has become a vehicle for all Dane County residents to share in that experience. A significant number of Madison’s Communities of the African Diaspora particularly African and Black attend the Celebration, and it is reaching an increasingly larger number of Latino/a, and European-American Madisonians as well. Considering national recognition as well as the ethnic and generational diversity of the Celebration’s attendees, Juneteenth is a community-wide attraction. Attendees also include individuals representing various socio-economic groups. The audience is truly reflective of Madison and Dane County’s diverse population.

Summary

40 Volunteers on Friday and Saturday – Set-up, support, Take-down. Associated Bank,
Justified Anger, Blackhawk Church, ULGM Young Professionals, and One City School Security
Staff, and local Madison residents.

Sponsors

News Coverage

https://www.channel3000.com/news/madison-black-community-celebrates-juneteenth/article_82b62bc2-0d68-11ee-8ad3-c35cba061188.html

https://www.wkow.com/news/crowds-celebrate-juneteenth-with-parade-in-madison/article_5a7454bc-ef56-11ec-a9b5-4b68d54b5912.html

https://madison.com/news/local/madison-juneteenth-celebration-set-with-series-of-online-programming-limited-in-person-events/article_937417d1-1419-5051-9291-1b1a66636090.html

https://isthmus.com/events/juneteenth-annual/
https://diversity.wisc.edu/2023/06/celebrating-juneteenth-2023/
https://madison365.com/juneteenth-2023/

https://captimes.com/news/madison-celebrates-juneteenth-from-the-capitol-to-penn-park/article_6f83ce4a-40fe-53f1-a4aa-0cc15094f911.html

https://original.newsbreak.com/@wisconsin-updates-1665644/3067719135265-madison-metropolitan-school-district-supports-community-empowerment-at-juneteenth-celebration

Photos

https://www.google.com/search?q=juneteenth%20madison%2C%20wi&tbm=isch&hl=en&tbs=rimg:CSbK5P7gA90Yd3IYgaiIXJ3sgIRCgIIABAAOgQIARAAVWNmDT_1AAgDYAgDgAgA&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS1056US1056&sa=X&ved=0CBoQuIIBahcKEwj44OuLo5uAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQEw&biw=3068&bih=1240

Social Media

https://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/blog/celebrating-juneteenth-2023-in-the-city-of-madison
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Madison%20Juneteenth%20Celebration
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222991254669210&set=p.10222991254669210&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/messenger_media/?attachment_id=3532421153745294&message_id=mid.
%24cAAAAABT2USqO6-Zc8WIuqERI3gO8&thread_id=1553163256