Last Friday, historic Lexington theatre The Lyric held an evening-long celebration in honor of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth recognizes the day in 1865 when the last group of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. It's been recognized as a federal holiday since 2021.
Downtown, historic theater The Lyric held a day-long celebration in honor of the anniversary with music, art and food trucks.
“The ending of slavery is American history,” said Christian Adair, The Lyric’s executive director. “So although the name and those who celebrate the most happen to be people of color, it's really a holiday that everyone should recognize. It's another Fourth of July, in a sense.”
The Lyric was once part of the Chitlin’ Circuit, a group of venues across the U.S. that welcomed Black performers amid segregation. The space closed in 1963 before reopening in 2010.
“It just stayed vacant for so long, and these people had to sit here and look at this space where they once saw, you know, people falling in love here, people having fun, people dancing and singing in this space, to it just becoming abandoned,” said Kendall Meiller, the Lyric’s rental and sales director.
Today, the theatre operates as a downtown cultural center with an art gallery and library alongside its concert hall. Brianna Armstrong is a multimedia artist whose work was on display during the event.
“I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams,” she said. “So being able to be a creative Black woman here in Lexington, and living my dream by being creative, and also inspiring others to be creative, I feel like that is the best thing.”
The evening closed with a “Soul Train” inspired sing-a-long concert.
“That is the very essence of who African Americans are. No matter what the struggle is, music has always been the foundation,” said Jonathan Gibbs, who attended the event.
