Juneteenth Celebration

Age Group:

Children, Birth to PreK, Elementary, Teens, Adults, Family, Everyone
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Event Details

Join the Olathe Public Library as we honor Juneteenth on June 19 from 10 AM-4 PM at both Indian Creek Library and Downtown Library.

Discover a wide array of celebratory family-filled programming including storytimes, arts and crafts, and films for all ages to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the day the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.

Event Details:

  • A Black Business Pop-Up Market at Indian Creek Library (Interested in being a vendor? Learn more here.

Everyone is welcome! This celebration is being made possible with the support of the Olathe Public Library Foundation.

Indian Creek Library:

10:00 am to 4:00 pm Black Business Pop-Up Market (Cafe Courtyard)

10:00 am: Button Making at Indian Creek Library (Outside of Makerspace)

11:00 am: Family Storytime at Indian Creek Library (Children's Programming Room)

11:00 am: Hidden Figures (PG) (Teen Zone)

11:30 am to 4:00 pm Children's Craft (Children's Programming Room)

1:00 pm: Historical Figure Portrayal: David Page (Event Space)

David Page: After the Civil War ended, newly freed, Southern blacks, know as “Exodusters” fled Southern states because of continued racism and violence, as well as economic and social poverty. During this period, some 16,000 blacks settled across Kansas with nearly 900 African American residents in Johnson County by 1880.

African American often formed their own neighborhoods in response to racist, segregationist white attitudes and actions. In Olathe, Blacks were forced to create their neighborhood away from the downtown area and instead settled in the Fairview neighborhood. Within these racialized neighborhoods, African Americans created their own schools and churches and became business owners.

In this historical portrayal, you'll meet one such business owner, David Page. Page was a Civil War veteran and one of the first Black Olathe residents. Page will be portrayed by Br. John Anderson.

2:00 pm: Visions of America: Discovering 18th & Vine in Kansas City – Stories of African American History and Culture Screening

3:00 pm: Visions of America: Discovering 18th & Vine in Kansas City – Stories of African American History and Culture Screening

Everyone is welcome! This celebration is being made possible with the support of the Olathe Public Library Foundation.