Juneteenth Celebration at the Brooklyn Museum 2024 is one of New York City’s great Juneteenth Celebrations.
Juneteenth Celebration at the Brooklyn Museum 2024
The 2024 Juneteenth Celebration at the Brooklyn Museum honors Black Western culture with line dancing, community portraits (like in cowboy days), denim decorating, and good Juneteenth soul food; throughout the Brooklyn Museum in Prospect Park, Brooklyn; on Saturday, June 15, 2024, from 12-8pm. $20, ages 4-19 free. 🇺🇸
Museum general admission gets you into the Black Western fun which includes community portraits in a western backdrop by Souls in Focus, and denim customization (bring your own jeans) by Hansel Clothing. There is an additional ticket for a special evening viewing of the excellent exhibition, “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys.” Alicia is rocking the world right now with her “Hell’s Kitchen” hit Broadway musical.
Black Western Culture is True
This edition honors Black Western culture because the first Juneteenth was in Galveston, Texas. Black Western Culture is a brilliant theme for several reasons.
The romantic image of the American cowboy is a false Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley narrative. Yee-hah, most cowboy songs of the 1930s-40s were written in New York City. [Editor Keith: I was a singing cowboy in the 1990s.] Most American cowboys where Black or Mexican/Native American. American cowboy traditions were learned from the Mexicans because most of the American West, including Texas, was once Mexico. Though often ignored, most Mexicans have a Black grandmother in the closet. [Editor Keith: Most of the founding families of Los Angeles, where I’m originally from, were Mexicans of African descent. They didn’t teach us that in school back in the day. You have to read the plaque in the old town square.]
Beyoncé has been wrongly criticized for her “Cowboy Carter” adventures into country music. Like most of the popular music and dance of the United States, American country music originated in African Diaspora communities. Even the banjo is derived from a North African instrument. So Black Western Culture is historically accurate.
More Information
brooklynmuseum.org (2024)