Oakland Cemetery is one of Atlanta’s most inclusive institutions. Everyone is invited to participate in the 2025 Juneteenth activities, regardless of race or religion.
Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States. It commemorates the date of June 19, 1865, when the last African-American slaves held in Confederate states were finally freed by the Union army, in Galveston, Texas. Six months later, the Thirteenth Amendment officially made slavery illegal throughout the entire United States. Juneteenth has been observed since 1866.
You may also be interested in our big list of 2025 Juneteenth observances.
2025 Juneteenth schedule of events
The events take place on Saturday, June 14, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
♦Family Programming Schedule – Hourly Programs
- 10:00 AM – Juneteenth Story Time – Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth
- 11:00 AM – Storytelling Performance & Workshop with Kuumba
- 12:00 PM – Preserving African American History at Oakland
- 1:00 PM – Juneteenth Flag: Symbols of Strength & Resilience
♦Family Programming — Ongoing Programs (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
- African American Burial Ground – History Hunt
- Profiles in Courage: African American leaders in Reconstruction
- Found Poem: What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
- Live music
♦Adult Programming Schedule
- 5:00 PM – Author Talk & Book Signing with Dr. DL Henderson (Perpetual Segregation: Chronicling the Black Side of Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery) at Oakland Overlook
- 6:00 PM – Traditional African Rhythms with Nehki Stover at Visitor Center Plaza
- 6:30 PM – Kuumba Storytellers at Visitor Center Plaza
- 7:00 PM – Perpetual Segregation Tour – Join our Dr. Henderson and Oakland tour guides for a curated tour of Oakland’s African American Burial Grounds highlighting many of the individuals and stories from Perpetual Segregation.
FREE Walking Tour of African-American Burial Grounds
Saturday, June 14, 2025
FREE to attend with advance reservation
The annual Juneteenth tradition of FREE tours is back at Oakland this year! You’ll need an advance reservation, and don’t delay because it will sell out.
If you can’t get a reserved ticket, come anyway!
You can also use your mobile device to take a narrated tour of the African American Burial Grounds.
The African-American burial grounds at Oakland Cemetery
Happening throughout the day…
If you can’t get a tour ticket or make it specifically for one of the scheduled events, come anyway!
You’ll enjoy a deejay, vendor market, arts & crafts station for kids, food truck, and more.
You can also use your mobile device to take a tour of the African American Burial Grounds.
Get more info from the Oakland event page
More events around metro Atlanta:
