This story was last updated June 19 at 9:45 a.m.

Juneteenth is not new. Black people in the U.S. have been observing the holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery, since the 19th century. But this year, there is renewed energy around the date because it arrives as activists and residents across the country — and around the D.C. area — continue with large-scale protests pushing for freedom from racist oppression.

Demonstrators have gathered in front of the White House daily since the end of last month, expressing grief and outrage at the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and other Black people by police. This week, activists are held a 36-hour sit-in at the Wilson Building, demanding that D.C.’s elected officials defund the Metropolitan Police Department and divert that money toward violence interruption programs, education, housing and other initiatives they say will be more effective at keeping residents safe. The demonstration follows a hearing over D.C.’s police budget, which saw record-high levels of public participation.

And on Friday — Juneteenth — the D.C. region can expect another day of action. Organizers have planned a slate of additional marches, protests and actions in the D.C. area. Some seek to channel the momentum generated by large-scale protests into change at the local level, through demands for local elected officials.

This list is not comprehensive and will be updated as more protests and events are publicized.

Is there an event or demonstration missing from this list? Please send information to jgathrig@wamu.org.

Strike for Black Lives

The D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter, along with a coalition of supporting organizations, is inviting people to help them “shut down the basic elements of the city” on Friday morning. It asks that people “join a protest, organize direct action, sick out of work, and skip class. Shut down high traffic intersections, block highway onramps, and police stations.”

The strike also asks businesses to put up a Black Lives Matter sign, pay their workers and shut down from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday. (Legal Aid D.C., for example, says it will close in support of the strike.)

The group says it will only promote actions that focus on the demands put forward by Black Lives Matter’s D.C. chapter. (You can read more about those demands here.)

Movement For Black Lives’ Six Nineteen Events

A coalition of organizations under the umbrella The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL) is publicizing several events in the D.C. area, including a Freedom Day March starting at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a rally at the Silver Spring Civic Center, a march starting at Malcolm X Park, a march from the Waterfront metro stop organized by the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and a march to Lafayette Square with the veterans’ organization Continue to Serve. M4BL is promoting three demands: defunding the police, investing in Black communities, and calling for the resignation of President Donald Trump.

Don’t Mute DC’s ‘People’s Juneteenth Celebration’

Don’t Mute DC is perhaps most well known as the rallying cry that emerged after the go-go music blaring from one of the city’s most iconic corners was temporarily shut off last spring. A year later, Don’t Mute DC is a social enterprise, and the group, led by co-founders Natalie Hopkinson and Ronald Moten, is holding a day of virtual events.

It will kick off with a conversation about Black police officers streamed on Facebook Live from noon to 1 p.m., then continue with an in-person march from the Metro PCS at the corner of 7th Street and Florida Avenue NW (according to Moten, the group will start assembling outside Howard Theatre at noon and the march will start at 3 p.m., barring inclement weather), another virtual town hall on mass incarceration and racial inequities from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and a virtual afterparty with spoken word and a DJ battle from 7:30-11 p.m.

Million Moe March

The creators of Moechella and last September’s inaugural Million Moe March will host a go-go and march. The event will begin at 4 p.m. at Black Lives Matter Plaza and end at 14th and U streets NW, and according to the longlivegogodc Instagram, the go-go bands TOB, TCB and UCB will be performing.

Ward 7 Rising Leaders’ Invest In Ward 7 Caravan

A group will convene at noon in the RFK Parking Lot at Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue NE, demanding economic prosperity, equitable education, investment in violence interruption systems, healthy affordable foods and D.C. statehood, with a focus on the needs of Ward 7 residents.

Black Students Matter Rally

Educators, students, and their supporters will meet in Freedom Plaza on Friday morning at 10 a.m. and then march to the U.S. Department of Education at 11 a.m. The rally outside the Department of Education will feature local students and teachers.

The event is organized by the group Educators for Equity, whose demands include defunding school police, halting school closures in Black and brown communities, revising or abolishing for-profit standardized testing, revising school history curricula to better acknowledge the history of nonwhite people, and divorcing school funding from local income taxes or enrollment audits.

Juneteenth Front Yard Festival For Justice

A group of neighbors in Petworth is inviting D.C. residents to celebrate Juneteenth together while keeping a safe distance due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. On their block, they will be cooking out on front lawns, making lawn signs, dancing and potentially marching on their sidewalks. Their Facebook event invites others across the city to commemorate the day as well.

“There is no set program other than a suggested banging of pots from 7:00-7:09pm followed by a minute of silence for George Floyd from 7:09-7:10pm,” says the event description. “We are open to all ideas and all in DC are welcome to celebrate as they see fit from their own blocks. We just want to make sure that Juneteenth is celebrated widely this year, even though the annual festival and parade are cancelled.”

Juneteenth March For Racial Equity

Three young Black women — Amina Carter, Gabrielle Christopher, and Coralie Boly — have organized a march for racial equity in Halethorpe, Maryland. It will start in the Save A Lot parking lot at 5101 East Dr. and continue with a march to Arbour Manor Park in Arbutus.

The organizers chose the location because “it’s a predominantly white area,” says Christopher. “In areas like that, they have the privilege to willfully ignore what’s going on if they decide to.”

D.C. Vigils Against Racism

A group of more than 35 faith communities will hold another Friday vigil (they’re holding vigils every Friday in June) on Juneteenth, as an expression of solidarity with protesters in downtown D.C. and across the country calling for an end to police violence. The organizers’ goal is for the vigil to cover as much of 16th Street NW as possible.

“There is no program other than 45 minutes of public vigil and then silent witnesses starting at 5:45 when participating institutions toll their bells for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time the officer’s knee was on George Floyd’s neck,” says the event’s description. “At the end of 8:46, we invite you to pray or meditate, either silently or out loud, on your commitment to ending racism.”

Juneteenth Motorcade Through Ward 8

The WIRE, or Women Involved in Reentry Efforts, along with the organization Love More, is hosting a caravan in Ward 8 on Friday. The group will meet at 5:00 p.m. in the Tiger Mart parking lot on Southern Ave, right at the border of Maryland and Southeast D.C. They will drive through several neighborhoods, including Bellevue, Congress Heights and Skyland, and will end the caravan along Good Hope Road SE in Anacostia.

The caravan is a joint celebration of Juneteenth and Father’s Day.

“The whole purpose of this event is to just celebrate freedom and celebrate our men,” said organizer Tanisha Murden. “We understand that our men are targets. We just want to embrace you, love on you, let you know that we do care.”

NW4BLACKJUSTICE Juneteenth Protest

NW4BLACKJUSTICE, which is organized by recent college graduates who grew up in and around D.C., will hold a march that will start at the National Cathedral at noon and end in Dupont Circle. According to the collective’s Instagram page, the group has one goal: “to mobilize the NW DC community in dismantling systemic inequalities within the 202.”

Juneteenth: A Day of Remembrance

Sweet Honey in the Rock, the Grammy-nominated a cappella group founded by civil rights activist Bernice Johnson Reagon in 1973, will host a virtual concert and panel. Proceeds will benefit the Equal Justice Initiative.

The website for the event quotes Toni Morrison: “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak; we write; we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

“DRIVE TO JUSTICE” MOTORCADE AND MARCH

The Juneteenth Leadership Coalition (including the Arc of Justice, SEIU/32BJ, Until Freedom, The Gathering For Justice, The Indigenous People’s Movement, and others) are marking the day with motorcades and marches across the country. The DC motorcade will begin at The Willard Hotel (14th Street NW & Pennsylvania Ave NW) with remarks at 1 p.m.

“Each Drive to Justice will lift up the names of those whose lives have been stolen by police and white supremacists, especially those local to the communities where each demonstration is taking place,” the event description says.

Various clergy and activists will be speaking, including Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Kadiatou Diallo, mother of Amadou Diallo; Nicole Bell, Fiancé of Sean Bell; Love and Hip Hop’s Yandy Smith and Jonathan Love.

Black Mamas March

The Black Mamas March, meant to be a family-friendly protest option, will gather at the Navy Memorial Plaza on Pennsylvania Ave. between 7th and 9th Streets NW from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a program of music, education and a babies’ march. The group will then join the larger gathering (part of the Six Nineteen slate of actions) near the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“Black Mamas March is a space for Black mamas and parents to take action in the name of Black Joy, Black love and in defense of Black lives,” says the event description. “We will honor all of the Black children and Mamas that were forced to mourn too soon, and have a dance party as part of our protest. We will protect our families and provide PPE, hand sanitizer, and ground markers to help folks observe physical distancing. This event will welcome Black children of all ages, and strollers, wagons, and baby carriers are strongly encouraged.”

Juneteenth ‘Walk In Love’

Momma’s Safe Haven, the Alliance of Concerned Men, and Serve Your City will host a “walk in love” beginning at 10 a.m. at 1351 Alabama Ave. SE.

“Spreading love in a community that has experienced high levels of crime is the mandate,” says the event flier. “We will have resources for individuals in need of support.” Organizations who serve the Ward 8 community are asked to bring a sign-up sheet to the event. Those who want more information can contact Beverly at info@mommassafehaven.org.

Juneteenth 19 For 19

A protest organized by the group dc_protests_ will begin a march from Malcolm X Park at 3:00 p.m. (Setup begins at 1 p.m.). The organizers are demanding a 19% reduction in police department budgets, and a requisite increase in funding for COVID-19 relief and other community social services.

Streets Calling Bike Ride

Streets Calling, a bike group that started in Chicago and recently created a DMV chapter, was created to stay active during stay-at-home orders and support the Black community. The group will meet at 6:00 p.m. at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“We decided to ride on Juneteenth because we wanted to represent Black Lives during this time of unrest,” wrote organizer Quintin Veasley. “We hope this ride will help celebrate empowerment and demonstrate unity in supporting Black Businesses in the area.”

The group typically rides every Saturday and visits a Black-owned business at the end of each ride.

Labor March For Black Lives Matter

The AFL-CIO will hold a rally at Black Lives Matter Plaza from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“As members of the labor movement, we fully understand the power of one’s voice and solidarity,” wrote the event organizers. “Here is your opportunity to add your voice to the call for racial justice.”

Art And Open Doors To Protesters At New York Avenue Presbyterian Church

The historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church is opening its doors to offer water, access to bathrooms and cell phone charging for protestors beginning at 4 p.m.

The church will also be projecting digital art dedicated to the memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people who have been killed by police, and displaying other messages of support throughout the day in an outdoor installation on the front steps.