Juneteenth Celebration

This year, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire celebrates Juneteenth alongside the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, an event widely framed as the birth of American freedom. This milestone invites us to reflect on the gaps, contradictions, and unfinished work embedded in the American experiment. Telling the full American story requires moving beyond a narrow focus on famous “founders” and battlefield triumphs. It asks that we center the lived experiences of those whose lands were taken and of those who fought for liberty while being denied it.

In New Hampshire and across the colonies, Black men served as soldiers, sailors, laborers, and spies during the Revolutionary War. Their lives reveal the central paradox of the Revolution: a war for liberty waged alongside the institution of slavery. The contradiction is undeniable: some fought while still enslaved, while others were promised freedom in exchange for service — promises that were not always kept.

Black Revolutionary War veterans embodied both the nation’s highest ideals and its deepest failures. To tell their stories does not diminish the founding; it deepens our understanding of it.

Through public programs, visits to historic sites, storytelling, and dialogue, the Trail uses the Semiquincentennial to examine how the ideals of freedom were contested, claimed, and lived out on the ground. Expanding our understanding of the Revolution affirms that Black history is not a separate story; it is foundational to the American story.

Celebrate Juneteenth side-by-side with others of goodwill by walking from Kittery, Maine, to the African Burying Ground in Portsmouth, New Hampshire! Meet at John Paul Jones Memorial Park on the Kittery side of the Route 1 Memorial Bridge. Wakers will gather by 9:00 AM and begin the 0.8-mile walk at 9:30 AM to the Burying Ground at 386 State Street, Portsmouth, NH, led by The Leftist Marching Band.

Parking for those participating in the walk is available at Kittery Walk-in Care, 35 Walker Street, and wheelchair-accessible parking spots across Hunter Ave by the Warren’s Lobster sign.

Bring a Sign. Bring a tambourine! Help celebrate African American Freedom.

This walk is hosted by The Seacoast African American Cultural Center, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, BLM NH, Northstar AME Zion Church, SDW Communication, Green Acre Baha’i Center of Learning, Seacoast NAACP, and Jukwaamazoa.

Groups participating in the walk include: the Leftist Marching Band, Seacoast Wheelers, and the Ruff Ryders. 

Join us for a sacred Juneteenth gathering honoring the lives and legacies of those excluded from America’s founding promises—Native Americans, Africans and African Americans, immigrants, Latinos, and other marginalized communities.

This cross-cultural commemorative event includes a Native American blessing, the reading of the names of Portsmouth’s enslaved Africans, and African drumming and dance. Together, we will remember, reflect, and celebrate resilience, culture, and community.

The gathering invites us to honor the past while envisioning the America we can become—one that truly lives up to its ideals of liberty, justice, and inclusion for all. All are welcome.

PROGRAM

10:00 AM | OPENING CEREMONY

Native American Blessing | Paul and Denise Pouliot

Opening Prayer | Rev. Rosmarie Pete

Gospel Selection | First Lady Ada Riggins

10:15 AM | READING OF THE NAMES

Presented by Dignitaries and Community Members

10:30 AM | AFRICAN DRUMMING & DANCE

Akwaaba Ensemble

11:00 AM | CLOSING REFLECTIONS

Rev. Dr. Jerrell Riggins

Sandi Clarke Kaddy & JerriAnne Boggis

This Juneteenth, step into history and celebrate five historic African Americans whose lives, courage, and brilliance offer powerful insights into New Hampshire's Black history.

Through engaging living-history performances, these historic men and women will come to life—inviting us to look beyond familiar narratives to discover a richer, more complex American history.   

Meet:

• Wentworth Cheswell — Revolutionary War veteran, community leader, and the first Black person elected to public office in the United States.
• Richard Potter —An internationally known magician, ventriloquist, and performer who became America’s first celebrity.
• Harriet Wilson — The first Black woman to publish a novel in the United States.
• Prince Whipple — Revolutionary War veteran and one of the signers of the 1779 Petition for Freedom.
• Ona Marie Judge — A young woman enslaved by George and Martha Washington who made the courageous decision to free herself.

This family-friendly celebration will also feature hands-on activities for children, interactive learning stations, and opportunities to engage directly with interpreters. Young visitors can explore history through crafts, storytelling, and creative play designed to spark curiosity and pride.

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and heroic orator for liberty, delivered one of his most famous speeches in which he asked, “What to the slave is your Fourth of July?” In addressing an Independence Day observance in Rochester, New York, his speech was a blistering indictment of an American idealism that ignored and accepted the inhuman treatment of enslaved African Americans as part of the country’s identity and economy. Ironically, even though Douglass’ words spoke directly to this moment in history, they still ring with an unsettling power today.

For the past several years,the BHTNH has collaborated with community leaders around the Granite State to bring people together to read Douglass’ historic protest speech and to reflect on its meaning. This event happens on the Saturday before the 4th of July at 12:00 pm (noon.)

While reading Frederick Douglass’ work is a powerful experience for many, it is only one piece of the long-overdue conversations that our communities need to have. We hope that these readings will be a starting point for these difficult dialogues and that they will provide an opportunity for us to engage in deeper conversations that will lead to actions to help build more inclusive and just communities today.

Learn more details about Frederick Douglass Community Readings here.

In commemoration of Juneteenth and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, in partnership with the American Independence Center and Exeter Historical Society, invites the public to join us for a moving, immersive journey through New Hampshire’s Black Revolutionary War history.

Three opportunities to participate:

Opening Ceremony & Musket Salute

Sunday, June 28 | 10:00 AM | Langdon Park | Portsmouth, NH | Free

Join us as we launch the day with an opening ceremony and a musket salute, presented by the Acton Minutemen, led by re-enactor Jason Roomes. This public gathering commemorates the revolutionary era and sets the stage for exploring New Hampshire's Black Revolutionary history.

Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Guided Bus Tour: Reclaiming History, Declaring Dignity

Sunday, June 28 | 10:30 AM–3:00 PM | Cost $55 pp

Following the opening ceremony, tour participants will board a bus for a guided tour through Portsmouth, Newmarket, and Exeter, exploring the lives of Black patriots including Prince Whipple, Wentworth Cheswell, Jude Hall, and others.

Tour Cost Includes:

Transportation, Guided interpretation, Special Programming at the American Independence Center, and Lunch

Advance registration required. 

Interactive Living History & Exhibit

Sunday, June 28 | 1:00 PM | American Independence Center | Exeter, NH | Free

Meet Prince Whipple, portrayed by Keith Mascoll, and explore the special exhibit presented by the American Independence Museum that powerfully explores the Unrepresented Voices of the American Revolution.

This special poster series exhibit pulls back the curtain on the complexities of early American liberty. Through historic documents, maps, and interpretive panels, visitors will discover the stories of the women who sustained the home front, the Indigenous Nations fighting for ancestral sovereignty, and the Black patriots who stood at the critical center of a war for freedom they were often denied.  

This program is free and open to the public.

Bus tour participants will visit this program as part of their tour.  Separate attendance is welcome and encouraged.