Juneteenth in Seneca Village (2025)

Thank you to all who joined us for this year's Juneteenth in Seneca Village event! We celebrated with an intergenerational community of musicians and poets in the historic Seneca Village landscape in Central Park. Through live performances and poetry readings inspired by the lives of former residents, we engaged with the unique history of Seneca Village—deepening our collective awareness of this significant 19th-century free Black community while bridging past and present.

Visit this page to learn about the Central Park Conservancy's inaugural Juneteenth in Seneca Village celebration.

A crowd of people sit and stand in the grass in the Seneca Village landscape, in Central Park. A boy faces the crowd, speaking at a microphone.

Poets

Kayden Hern
Three young black poets speak at microphones in front of a green Central Park Conservancy tent.

Poets

Kai Giovanni, Courtney Symone Staton, and Jayden Antwine
Three members of the Rakiem Walker Project perform music beneath a green tent. One conducts, one holds a microphone, and one plays the drums.

Performers

The Rakiem Walker Project
Three Black woman sit together to watch the performance. Two wear Juneteenth-themed t-shirts.

Audience

Rakiem Walker and GLRYA perform for the crowd.

The Rakiem Walker Project

Rakiem Walker, GLRYA
City Councilmember Gale Brewer poses with the descendants of Andrew Williams: Mareia, Andrew IV, and Andrea.

Guests

Gale Brewer, Mareia Williams, Andrew Williams IV, Andrea Williams

Poets

Kayden Hern

Poets

Kai Giovanni, Courtney Symone Staton, and Jayden Antwine

Performers

The Rakiem Walker Project

Audience

The Rakiem Walker Project

Rakiem Walker, GLRYA

Guests

Gale Brewer, Mareia Williams, Andrew Williams IV, Andrea Williams

Featured performers:

Event Recap

Celebrating Juneteenth in Seneca Village


"In My Mind"

Original poem by Kayden Hern

View with audio description

This event is part of Seneca Village: Toward a Permanent Commemoration, an ongoing program series funded by the Mellon Foundation. The program series will culminate in a community-informed framework guiding the future design of a permanent commemoration of Seneca Village in Central Park.