Carver Museum to host its Juneteenth festival June 15-19

The George Washington Carver Museum and Carver ATX Foundation will celebrate Black culture, history and resilience by hosting the fifth annual Stay Black and Live Juneteenth Festival over several days. “We’re thrilled to host Stay Black and Live 2024 Festival, celebrating the spirit of Juneteenth and showcasing the rich tapestry of Black culture,” said Carre Adams, curator and director of the George Washington Carver Museum. “This festival is a testament to our commitment to honoring our past, empowering our present, and shaping our future.”

• Saturday, June 15: Community Cookout and Music Festival at 3 p.m., featuring carnival-style games, live music, a chess tournament, vendors, art and workshops. Later that evening, hip-hop legend Scarface and Grammy-nominated band Tank and the Bangas will deliver live performances.
• Monday, June 17: At 2 p.m., the annual Free Your Mind Lecture Series and Symposium kicks off with a virtual conversation with the scholar and 2024 presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Melina Abdullah. At 4:30 p.m. will be a film screening of “I’m Not Your Negro” (2016) and a discussion by Dr. Theodore Smith-Francis. At 6:30 p.m., Texas poet-laureate Amanda Johnson will discuss the role of poetry in movements for liberation and justice.
• Tuesday, June 18: At 2:30 p.m., the film “Miss Juneteenth” (2020) will be screened with a discussion with UT professor of musicology Dr. Charles Carson. At 4:30 p.m. will be a presentation by professor Marlon Bailey on his latest manuscript, “Black Sexual Economies: Race and Sex in a Culture of Capital.” At 7:30 p.m. Christopher Michael Brown will host a poetry slam in partnership with 310 Brown St. poetry collective.
• Wednesday, June 19: At noon, events start with a conversation featuring Zimbabwean-American writer and activist Dr. Zoe Samundzi. At 2:30 p.m. will be a remembrance ceremony in the Carver’s Community Garden. At 7 p.m. is a performance of playwright and activist Jeaux Anderson’s “Patches: A Black Gay Man’s Journey to the Moon.” At the Paramount Theatre, 713 Congress Ave., doors open at 6 p.m. for a screening of “If They Took Us Back” (2024). At 10 p.m., the festival concludes with the “Freedom Ball” presented by Mother Natalie and Mother Tia of the House of Lepore at Cheer Up Charlies, 900 Red River St.

The Carver Museum is located at 1165 Angelina St. For more information, visit www.juneteenthatx.com.