For Juneteenth last year, I checked out the celebration at the City of Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza, then headed to the movie theater and met my homies for a showing of The Blackening. The movie, co-written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem), opened on June 16, 2023, nearly two years to the day after President Biden established Juneteenth as a US national holiday on June 17, 2021.
The Blackening is a horror comedy about a group of Black college friends who face deadly consequences when they reunite on Juneteenth for a weekend cookout. The holiday that’s often met upon mention with “What’s Juneteenth?” officially went mainstream, y’all. Or, at least, more mainstream than it’s ever been. Juneteenth as a holiday is utilized in this movie the same way previous mainstream entertainment set plot events around the 4th of July or summer vacation.
It’s fitting that The Blackening, aka the Juneteenth movie, is a blend of horror and comedy. Horror is appropriate because the arrival of African Americans in what was then the British colony of Virginia and the flourishing of what would become the United States of America are based on the horrific and inhumane transatlantic slave trade. The Declaration of Independence extols the idea that humans have the right to life and liberty but, at the time of its writing, the brutal enslavement of human beings thrived.
No aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the 250 years of slavery that followed.”
— “The 1619 Project”, New York Times Magazine, August 18, 2019
Juneteenth itself originated on a tragic error. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last of the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas were informed by Union troops that slavery had been abolished via the Emancipation Proclamation, two years earlier. Ain’t that some ish? It’s also why Juneteenth was originally a regional Texan event.
“He had to ask Rusty what Juneteenth was, and he was right, it was some country thing.
‘Juneteenth is when those slaves in Texas found out slavery was over,’ Rusty said. ‘My cousins used to throw a party to celebrate.’”
–Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead
Why is the comedy aspect of The Blackening so fitting? Peep this list of ills commented on (either seriously or humorously) in the movie:
As humans and especially as Black Americans, we balance horror with humor, and create joy and spiritual sustenance wherever and whenever we can. If not for the laughter, we’d be crying all the time.
Like comedy, horror has an ability to provoke thought and further the conversation on real social issues in a very powerful way.”
-Jordan Peele, The Daily Show interview
Keep the American tradition of honoring Juneteenth with community and fun going at one of these upcoming local celebrations. The NMBLC events calendar has a wealth of community Juneteenth celebrations hosted by groups throughout New Mexico. Keep scrolling for the Juneteenth events rundown. Check back here or on our events calendar as more 2024 Juneteenth celebrations get added.
When: Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 5:30 – 7pm
Where: St Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe
What else:
When: Saturday, June 8, 2024, 9am – 8pm
Where: Open Space Visitor Center, Albuquerque
What else:
When: Sunday, June 9, 2024, 3 – 6pm
Where: New Hope Gospel Church, Albuquerque
What else: EVENT LINK: https://nmblc.org/events/juneteenth-gospel-extravaganza/
When: Friday, June 14, 2024, 4 – 6pm
Where: NMSU Corbett Center
What else: EVENT LINK: https://nmblc.org/events/celebrating-juneteenth-uplifting-our-successes/
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 9 – 10am
Where: Academy Hills Park, Albuquerque
What else:
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 11am – 11pm
Where: Civic Plaza, Albuquerque
What else: EVENT LINK: https://nmblc.org/events/nm-juneteenth/
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 12pm-5pm, 9pm
Where: Civic Plaza, Albuquerque Social Club
What else: Take the Blaq Pride Allyship Challenge and experience an interactive art exhibit, Blaq Pride performance preview and The Chocolate Dolls’ “Black to the Future” drag show.
EVENT LINK: https://www.instagram.com/p/C722SkkpJHI
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 9am – 5pm
Where: Albuquerque Convention Center
What else:
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 3-9pm
Where: Santa Fe Plaza
What else:
When: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 2pm
Where: Atkinson Recital Hall
What else: EVENT LINK: https://nmblc.org/events/las-cruces-juneteenth-gospel-showcase/
When: Sunday, June 16, 2024, 11am – 5pm
Where: Wilson Park
What else:
When: Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Where: Sandia Golf Club
What else:
When: Thursday, June 20, 2024, 7pm-close
Where: Sister Bar (407 Central Ave NW)
What else:
DJ Ryan Demond & DJ Jaxsun Planet spinning Afrobeats, Afro house, hip-hop, soca, amapiano, R&B, funk & more
Spotlighting Black-owned Businesses and community leaders
Uniting all of us to enjoy music, performance and dance in downtown Albuquerque
EVENT LINK: https://nmblc.org/events/afrosphere-juneteenth-celebration
When: Thursday, June 20 – Sunday, June 23, 2024
Where: Various venues in Las Cruces
What else:
When: Saturday, June 22, 2024, 10am – 2pm
Where: Haynes Community Center and Park, Rio Rancho
What else:
Read the UpLift Chronicles: https://nmblc.org/uplift-chronicles/
Shannon Moreau is the editor for NMBLC’s EQ Blog
Tentative Schedule:
8 AM: Juneteenth Hike
10 AM: What Happened to Blackdom? By Dr. Timothy E. Nelson
1 PM: Anthems of belonging: For New America – Hakim Bellamy
2 PM: African Storytelling by Brenda Hollingsworth-Marley
2:30 PM: Hands-on Crafts by Brenda Hollingsworth-Marley
3:30 PM: Poets & Conservation Carnivale
5 PM: B-Boys/B-Girls
6 PM: Sweet Roll
6:45 PM: DaJerney
