National Civil Rights Museum Celebrates Juneteenth Community Day with Free Admission Period, Health Services, and Cultural Performances
Community health screenings, voter registration, live music, and family activities mark June 19, the federal holiday, as America approaches its 250th anniversary
Memphis, TN, June 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum invites the community to its annual Juneteenth Community Day on Friday, June 19, 2026, with a designated free museum admission period from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The day features vital community health services, live performances by Memphis artists, voter registration, and family educational activities that honor both the history of emancipation and the freedoms still being fought for today.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with Union troops to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and inform enslaved Texans that they were free, more than two years after President Lincoln had signed it into law. More than 160 years later, the Museum uses this day to connect that history to the present, especially as the nation prepares to mark the U.S. Semiquincentennial, 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
This year’s Community Day features a comprehensive slate of health resources provided by Baptist Health Sciences University, Baptist Memorial Health Care, and Vitalant with the Sickle Cell Foundation. Health offerings include blood pressure and diabetes risk-factor screenings and education, osteopathic medicine demonstrations, and resource connections to community healthcare workers.
“Freedom has always included the freedom to live, to have access to the care, the resources, and the dignity that make life worth living, said Veda Ajamu, Chief Officer of Engagement. “Black and brown communities across this country continue to navigate a healthcare system that too often treats their lives as an afterthought. When we gather on Juneteenth, we are saying clearly: our health matters, our lives matter, and we will continue advocating until every family has what it needs to thrive,” she said.
In celebration of Black Music Month with support from Memphis Tourism, live performances featuring Memphis artists will fill the museum campus with music and spoken word from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, celebrating the cultural freedom of expression rooted in the traditions that sustained the movement. A DJ, live radio remotes, and recorded messages honoring Juneteenth round out the program alongside food trucks and children’s activities for all ages.
A voter registration drive will be hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Chapters of Memphis and Shelby County from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm to encourage every visitor to exercise what the Museum calls a fragile, hard-fought right, especially in an election year when voting access remains contested across the country.
“While we are celebrating Juneteenth, much emphasis has been on celebrating 250 years of American democracy,” said Dr. Russell Wigginton, Museum President. “Ironically, this is at a moment when some of its most foundational promises, the right to vote, the right to speak, the right to be seen and counted, are actively being contested. Juneteenth is not a nostalgia exercise. It is a charge. This museum exists to hold that charge in front of every generation, and to remind us all that the work of freedom is never finished,” he said.
Free admission from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Regular admission resumes from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Juneteenth Community Day is made possible by Ford Philanthropy with support from Baptist Memorial Health Care, Memphis Tourism, Caesars Entertainment/Horseshoe Tunica, ArtsMemphis, and Nike. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit civilrightsmuseum.org.
About the National Civil Rights Museum
The NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, located at the historic Lorraine Motel where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, gives a comprehensive overview of the American Civil Rights Movement from slavery to the present. Since the Museum opened in 1991, millions of visitors from around the world have come, including thousands of students annually. Serving as the new public square, the Museum is steadfast in its mission to honors and preserves the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination. We chronicle the American civil rights movement and tell the story of the ongoing struggle for human rights, serving as a catalyst to inspire action to create positive social change. A Smithsonian Affiliate and an internationally acclaimed cultural institution, the Museum is recognized as a 2019 National Medal Award recipient by the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the top national honor for museums and libraries. More information at civilrightsmuseum.org.
Connie Dyson National Civil Rights Museum 901-527-1225 cdyson@civilrightsmuseum.org
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