Celebrate Juneteenth in Historic Seneca Village
Celebrate the spirit of community and the history of Seneca Village with a special performance of music, dance, and spoken word.
This Juneteenth, celebrate with the Central Park Conservancy, Broadway’s DeWitt Fleming, Jr., and an intergenerational community of performers in the historic Seneca Village landscape in Central Park. Interpretive music, dance, and spoken word will transport you to Seneca Village in 1845, where Black New Yorkers built their own homes, churches, and a school. The performance will explore how Andrew Williams’s 1825 land purchase evolved into a thriving community, which existed along what is now the Park’s perimeter from West 82nd to 89th Streets. We invite you to engage with the unique history of Seneca Village—deepening our collective awareness of this significant 19th-century free Black community while bridging past and present.
Directed by Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Ben Harney, the performance was written and conceived by DeWitt Fleming, Jr. and co-produced by DeW It Right Productions, with original works by Markeisha Ensley, Mikumari Caiyhe, and Mercedes White.
No registration required for this free community event.
The performance starts at 1:00 pm, featuring:
- Broadway performer DeWitt Fleming, Jr.
- Broadway performer Jennie Harney Fleming
- Trumpeter, composer, and educator Alphonso Horne
- Poet and emcee Mikumari Caiyhe
- Writer, composer, and singer Markeisha Ensley
- Master percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell
- Christian Cultural Center drama students
- Harlem School of the Arts drama and music students
Bring a blanket to sit on and enjoy the performance in comfort!
The Seneca Village landscape is between West 85th Street and West Drive. Enter the Park at W 85th St.
This event is part of Seneca Village: Toward a Permanent Commemoration, an ongoing program series funded by the Mellon Foundation. This series will culminate in a community-informed framework guiding the future design of a permanent commemoration of Seneca Village in Central Park.
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COMMUNITY EVENTS BY THE CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY
Central Park Conservancy community events reflect the spirit of the Park itself: fun, free, and open to all. Join us all year for family-friendly programs across Central Park—featuring music, movement, art, film, and more—creating a culture of connection in the Park we all love.