Juneteenth is a fairly new federal holiday but already a lot of events are taking place around the Triad to celebrate the date. The Greensboro History Museum is one of those places.

The museum in downtown Greensboro will celebrate Juneteenth  –  as well as Civic Season – beginning with a Green Book Bike Tour at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 22.. Later in the day museum visitors can encounter costumed interpreters portraying North Carolina journalists, activists, and public figures from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. as part of the Lifted Voices Series.

The Greensboro History Museum is located at 130 Summit Ave.

“Civic Season” isn’t as well-known as Juneteenth but it’s the period of time between Juneteenth and July 4th – which unites the oldest federal holiday with the newest.  Civic Season is meant to inspire a movement  “to understand our past and shape our future.”

Many Americans became familiar with the “Green Book” thanks to the popular 2018 movie by the same name.

Promotional material from the city notes the following about the book and the upcoming celebration on June 22:  “Between 1936 and 1966, The Negro Motorist Green Book offered African American travelers a guide to safe spaces across the US, including more than a dozen sites in Greensboro. People interested in learning more about this history can hop on a bike to explore historic locations and currently operating Green Book sites in the Gate City, including the Historic Magnolia House. This free, family-friendly guided bike tour is approximately 3 miles. The tour begins at 10:30 am at the Greensboro History Museum and registration is required. This ride is a partnership with Bicycling in Greensboro (BIG) and registration links along with information about reserving a helmet or bike to use on the tour can be found at [the following website.”

https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/19592/bikegso.org/2024-History-Tour

The museum will also have costumed interpreters in the galleries as well as children’s activities that day.

 Lifted Voices is a free, family-friendly series of “living history events that bring to life people and stories from Greensboro’s (and North Carolina’s) past.”

 Guests who walk through the history museum will be able to explore the galleries and the exhibition: “NC Democracy: Eleven Elections.”

In doing so, they’ll meet living history actors portraying people such as freeman and 1868 Convention delegate Wilson Carey, civil rights activist Pauli Murray, historian and anti-suffragist Mary Hilliard Hinton, and Judge Elreta Alexander-Ralston.

 Pre-K to 3rd graders and their families can also have fun learning about judge and writer Albion Tourgée with a free newspaper activity at Little Lions on Saturday starting at noon.