A live theatrical and civic gathering that commemorates Juneteenth through story, music, movement, and intergenerational dialogue.
Presented at the Acadiana Center for the Arts
On June 19, 1865, freedom finally reached Texas, two and a half years after it was declared. The Juneteenth Story lives in that gap: the waiting, the word arriving, the first breath of a people learning they were free.
Told through movement, music, and testimony, it moves between then and now, holding the origin of freedom against the lives we carry today.
A company of Acadiana artists, singers, dancers, and storytellers who give the history a body and a voice. Each year the ensemble grows, and each year the story is passed to new hands.
Directed and produced under Black Theatre Experience, in residence at the Heritage.
Written by Twana Benoit · Directed by Josiah Price
Three nights this past June, the 19th through the 21st, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. Thank you to everyone who filled those seats.
In 2027 the story grows into a mainstage production at the AcA, with a gala to match. Dates are on the way.
The Juneteenth Story is built by and for this community. Sponsorships underwrite the artists, the venue, the students in the room, and the free seats we hold each year so cost is never the reason someone misses it.
