The Story of Juneteenth

*It’s possible for the narrator to be in role as the teacher.

(The stage is set as a classroom, with a teacher at the front and three children sitting at desks. On the chalkboard, it reads “Juneteenth: Freedom Day.”)

Narrator:
It’s a special day in school, and the children were learning about an important day in American history-Juneteenth! Little do they know, some very famous visitors from the past are about to join them.

Child 1:
What is Juneteenth, anyway?

Child 2:
Yeah, I’ve heard of it, but I don’t really know what it means.

Child 3:
Is it like the 4th of July?

Narrator:
Just as the children started asking questions, the lights flickered, and a wind blew through the room. Suddenly, history itself came to life!

Scene 2: Meeting Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman

(Frederick Douglass enters, holding a book and looking thoughtful. Harriet Tubman follows behind, standing proudly.)

Frederick Douglass:
Greetings, young scholars. I am Frederick Douglass, and I am here to tell you about freedom-especially the freedom that came with Juneteenth.

Harriet Tubman:
And I’m Harriet Tubman. I helped many enslaved people escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad. We’re here to tell you the story of Juneteenth.

Child 2:
Wait-Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman? I’ve heard of you! You both fought against slavery, right?

Frederick Douglass:
Indeed. I was born into slavery but escaped, and I spent my life fighting for the freedom of all people. I spoke, wrote, and worked to end slavery in America.

Harriet Tubman:
And I risked my life to help others escape from slavery. But even after many of us were free, slavery still existed in parts of the South.

Scene 3: The Announcement of Freedom

Narrator:
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all enslaved people in the Confederate states were free. But it took time for that message to reach everyone.

(Enter General Granger, holding a scroll. He stands proudly as if making an announcement.)

General Granger:
I am General Gordon Granger, and I was sent to Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, with an important message: All enslaved people are now free!

(An Emancipated Person enters, looking amazed and overjoyed.)

Emancipated Person:
We’re free? Finally free?

General Granger:
Yes, by the order of the president, all enslaved people are free. Juneteenth is the day we remember that moment-when freedom finally reached all corners of America.

Child 1:
Wait, so even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, some people didn’t know they were free until two years later?

Frederick Douglass:
Exactly. It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. That’s why Juneteenth is such an important day-it marks the true end of slavery in America.

Child 2:
I get it! If you combine June and 19th, you get Juneteenth!

Child 3:
But why did it take so long? Was it because there were no computers or phones back then?

Frederick Douglass:
That, and the fact that the enslavers deliberately withheld the news of the Emancipation Proclamation.