PRESENTED BY
THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS INSTITUTE
OF THE SAMUEL DEWITT PROCTOR CONFERENCE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CARNEGIE HALL
In the spirit of the first Juneteenth celebrations in Texas in 1865, our celebration will include music, dance, and, of course, messages challenging us to continue our efforts to become “a more perfect Union.” Channeling the wisdom and convictions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this year we embrace the theme of All America Freedom Day: Reimagining Togetherness.Our community and the nation need an uplifting experience of being together in unity and love to lend hope during a season so fraught with division and incivility.
PRESENTED BY
THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CARNEGIE HALL
In the spirit of the first Juneteenth celebrations in Texas in 1865, our celebration will include music, dance, and, of course, messages challenging us to continue our efforts to become “a more perfect Union.” Channeling the wisdom and convictions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this year we embrace the theme of All America Freedom Day: Reimagining Togetherness.Our community and the nation need an uplifting experience of being together in unity and love to lend hope during a season so fraught with division and incivility.
2022 CELEBRATION
For a fourth consecutive year, The Healing of the Nations Foundation in association with Carnegie Hall presents the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration.
Founded in 2007 by the Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., the mission of the Healing of the Nations Foundation is to promote the recovery of the moral and spiritual values that inspired our Nation’s founding.
Through music, dance, and commentary, Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. leads this celebration to recognize the importance of this historic day and to acknowledge the long road still ahead.
The evening will commemorate the important contributions that African Americans have made to the United States, honoring educator and poet, Sonia Sanchez and community activist Opal Lee.
2022 Mistress of Ceremony
Unfortunately, David Alan Grier will not be able to join us for this year’s Juneteenth Celebration. In his stead, Tony Award-winning actress, LaChanze, has consented to fill the role of Mistress of Ceremonies.
The incomparable LaChanze is a quadruple threat of stage and screen who brings an exhilarating and electrifying presence whenever she engages an audience.
2022 Tony Award nominee for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the production of Trouble in Mind. The recipient of The Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Play for Trouble in Mind. Nominated Winner of a Tony for her portrayal of Celie in Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple (2005) and an Emmy award winner for her Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence on Camera with PBS’ Handel’s Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise, LaChanze regularly uses the power of her artistry to imbue life into those who may go unheralded. Her critically acclaimed one-woman concert series, Feeling Good, takes fans along a glorious autobiographical journey of her life in music and words.
Awarded by ADAPT for her work advocating for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, LaChanze is a founding member and president of Black Theatre United and serves on the board of Harlem Stage.
LaChanze also has added Broadway producer to her list of accomplishments, bringing to the stage the critically-acclaimed musical comedy Kimberly Akimbo and a play that brings the themes of class and power into a play Topdog/Underdog.
2022 Presenter
Mahogany L. Browne, selected as Kennedy Center’s Next 50, is the Executive Director of JustMedia, Artistic Director of Urban Word, a writer, playwright, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. Founder of the diverse lit initiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne’s latest poetry collection Chrome Valley (Norton) due to drop Spring 2023 is a promissory note to survival. She is the first-ever poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Since it opened in 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for musical excellence and serves as the aspirational destination for the world’s finest voices.
Through music and commentary, the evening will recognize the importance of this historic day and acknowledging the long road still ahead.
Juneteenth Celebration 2022
Sunday, June 19, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
Juneteenth commemorates our nation’s true independence—the day when all members of the newly reunited nation were finally declared free after the American Civil War. Join us for this live celebration celebrating Black culture.
