Florida's Emancipation Legacy: Honoring Black Miami

The Juneteenth Experience 2025 commemorates Florida's official Emancipation Day with a special celebration on Monday, May 20th at Green Space Miami. This event serves as the Miami-Dade kickoff for this year's Juneteenth Experience, centered on the theme of non-erasure and the celebration of Black Miami-Dade history.

• 6:00- 7:00PM | Welcome reception featuring wine, light bites from Reflections Catering, and interactive placemaking activities. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in community and family portraits with artist Symone Major, engage in a symbolic "Sowing Seeds of History" planting activity, and contribute to collective poetry making facilitated by Yadira Capaz.
• 7:00-8:30 PM | Panel & Performances | The program continues with a panel discussion titled "Miami-Dade's Black Heritage: Rooting and Rising," moderated by creative producer Arsimmer McCoy. The distinguished panel includes longtime Coconut Grove resident Carol Henley, DJ and culture keeper Charles Farquaharson (known as Pac Jam 305), and Kamila E. Pritchett, Executive Director of The Black Archives.
• 8:30-9PM | Closing & Connection

This celebration on Florida's official Emancipation Day – commemorating May 20th, 1865, when enslaved people in Florida finally learned of their freedom – initiates a month of community workshops, performances, and activations across Miami-Dade County, all leading up to the signature Juneteenth Experience performances in June.