Nantucket Celebrates Juneteenth At African Meeting House

Nantucketers gathered for the island’s fifth annual Juneteenth celebration at the African Meeting House on Friday, highlighted by musical performances, local vendors, and a screening of the new documentary "Nantucket’s Historic Coloured Cemetery: Stories Told by Nantucketers." Attendees and organizers alike listed the sense of community that the event inspired as the highlight.

“I feel like every year we get more people. We keep adding more and more things to the agenda,” said Shantaw Bloise-Murphy, Nantucket’s Director of Culture and Tourism, who organized the event. “The fact that we're able to be here on York Street, have the whole thing shut down, take over the whole block, have the fabulous support of so many members of our community of all races, ages, cultural backgrounds, religious backgrounds, that is my favorite part.”

“I've lived here for six years and I've never been to [the AMH] while it's open, so this was a really great opportunity to come,” island resident Lynell Richards said. “It's great to see all the people coming together and all of the performances.”

In addition to live music by Kezia Duarte, Latulippe, and E-Cliff and the Swing Dogs, the event featured a performance by local drag queen SheSheFoGo.

“The band, all the people coming together, that's what it's all about,” SheSheFoGo said. “I’m an auntie, so I love to see all the kids.”

In addition to the town, the event was co-hosted by the Museum of African American History (MAAH), the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, and the Nantucket Historical Association.

“Juneteenth is the perfect time to be on Nantucket…I consider it to be a hub on the abolitionist circuit,” MAAH Chief Curator Angela Tate said. “My favourite part of the day has been the food, but I also love the vendors.”

Food was provided by Nantucket Island Creations, and the street was lined with vendors selling arts and crafts.

“Like all Nantucket things, community. That’s the primary reason,” Select Board member Tom Dixon, who attended the event, said. “It's obviously an important event at an island institution, so I wanted to come down and support."

Juneteenth, a blending of “June” and “nineteenth,” celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, marking the day Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas. Granger put the Emancipation Proclamation into effect in Texas, the last Confederate state to retain legal slavery. While it has been celebrated much longer, it was named a federal holiday by President Joe Biden in 2021.

All photos below by Charity Grace Mofsen