Tour start location is at the stage/bandstand area. Tour is a comprehensive and interactive program which will invite both Greenbelt residents and non-residents to learn about the storied history of Greenbelt’s recreation development and current ecological efforts at Greenbelt Lake. The tour will take place at Buddy Attick Park where participants will be guided around Greenbelt Lake on the 1.25mile trail with seven unique stops. These “impromptu lecture stops” will include information about the creation of Greenbelt Lake, evolution of Buddy Attick Park rules, interesting stories throughout the park’s history, and current water/ecological conservation effort.

Click here to view the Juneteenth Program

“Freedom’s Eve,” January 1, 1863. So many enslaved people waited anxiously for the Emancipation Proclamation to become a reality in Confederate States that the tension in houses of worship and on plantations was overwhelming. Its passage brought much relief and joy on many Southern plantations. Enslaved people in Texas would not learn that they were free until June 19, 1865, when the union army arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform them of the Emancipation Proclamation. It is for the Freedom to all enslaved people/workers that Juneteenth is celebrated each year on June 19th, to commemorate the initial ending of slavery in America, that was completed with the passage of the 13th Amendment.

2021 marks the 156th anniversary of Juneteenth and the Greenbelt Black History and Culture committee in collaboration with the Recreation Department, Old Greenbelt Theatre, The Space-Free Art for All, the Greenbelt Museum, GATe, RUAK, Beltway Plaza Mall and CHEARS -Three Sisters Gardens offers a series of activities and service opportunities to commemorate the ending of chattel slavery in America. A video about Juneteenth will be presented by Delegate Nicole Williams and will be aired on the City’s media channels. GATe will air historical and educational information about Juneteenth during the week.