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The region’s first official Juneteenth mural will be unveiled during the 17th Annual Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, June 17th at 2p.m. on the 6300 block of
Germantown Avenue. Designed by artist Keisha Whatley, the 1,100 sq. ft. Absolute Equality-Juneteenth Celebration mural will be installed at the Germantown ArtHaus, which she founded, on the west side wall facing the Johnson House, a historic stop on the Underground Railroad.
The themes of birth, brokenness, healing and transformation are told through five levels, with each level seen through an ever-opening symbolic vine system. The first three levels form the first iteration of the project:
ï‚· African pre-history & royalty: Pre-Colonial
ï‚· Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade/ US slavery
ï‚· Juneteenth: Freedom, Family, a Future
ï‚· The Struggle for Absolute Equality: Police brutality, racism, protests (to be completed in 2024)
ï‚· A Future of Absolute Equality Realized (to be completed in 2024)
The history-making mural dedication will include the festival's Colored Troop Re-enactors, dance and drum performances, interactive art stations, and is in conjunction with the national Absolute Equality-Juneteenth Mural Project, which originated in Galveston, TX (the birthplace of Juneteenth) in 2021 and has expanded to include large-scale murals in other cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Shreveport and now Philadelphia. Organizers say by creating murals in different communities, the project is creating a sense of connection and shared history, inspiring conversations and promoting greater unity and understanding.
The Philadelphia mural was painted by nearly three dozen volunteers, local artists and more than 400 students from nearby Hill-Freedman World Academy during community paint days. The project was sponsored by Mural Arts Philadelphia and Capital One Café.
