Felicia Durden, an educator recognized for her work in African-American education, is calling attention to what she sees as a gap between the widespread observance of Juneteenth and the public’s understanding of its origins. The nation marked Juneteenth as a federal holiday beginning in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed legislation recognizing June 19 as a national day of remembrance and reflection. While millions of Americans now have the day off from work, Durden said that many still do not know why the date matters. “I understand because I also did not know what Juneteenth was at one point and it wasn’t until I moved to Texas I got to learn more,” Durden said, recounting her own path to learning the holiday’s history and explaining why she believes broader education is needed.
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Durden’s efforts to raise awareness are grounded in both community outreach and published work. She has been honored with the Martin Luther King Diversity Awards for her contributions to African-American education and has authored several children’s books that explore events in Black history. Those books are part of her strategy to introduce younger readers to stories often absent from standard curricula. Durden also noted that she has another book in the pipeline that will be announced in the coming months. Her work, she says, is aimed at creating accessible entry points into complex histories so families and teachers can have conversations about emancipation, resilience and the long-term consequences of slavery and segregation.
The history Durden wants people to understand begins during and after the Civil War, when limited communication left many enslaved people isolated from news of national developments. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, declared enslaved people in Confederate-held territories to be free, but the proclamation could not be enforced in areas still under Confederate control. In Texas, where federal control was weak and Union presence minimal, many enslaved people remained unaware they had been legally freed. It was not until Union troops arrived at Galveston Bay and announced the end of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, that more than 250,000 enslaved people in that state learned they were free. That announcement came after a conflict that reshaped the nation and followed emancipation efforts that had affected nearly 4 million people nationwide before 1860.
Durden cautioned that the way Juneteenth is often presented in textbooks and statistics can obscure lived experience and local histories. She said the event is frequently reduced to numbers or a single date, rather than explored as part of a broader conversation about freedom, law and the uneven application of federal authority during Reconstruction. She also pointed out an immediate practical education gap in her state: “The holiday is not part of the Arizona state standards in schools but everyone should know about the holiday,” she said. For Durden, that omission underscores the need for programming and materials that place Juneteenth within classroom lessons and community discussions so students and residents understand both the historical moment and its continuing cultural resonance.
Public celebrations and local events, Durden believes, offer one of the most effective ways to bring those conversations to life. In Tempe and other communities, Juneteenth gatherings blend history, art and food with performances designed to educate as much as entertain. Spoken-word artists, musicians and storytellers are among those who use the stage to recount the holiday’s meaning and to humanize the past in ways that classroom lists and timelines rarely accomplish. One such moment came during a recent block party in Tempe where an artist performed a spoken-word piece inspired by Juneteenth, addressing attendees beneath a prominent holiday banner.
A speaker at a microphone stands in front of a large Juneteenth banner during a Tempe community event, addressing attendees about the holiday.
Those community gatherings also include more familiar celebratory elements — cooks preparing traditional foods, vendors selling crafts, and groups dancing together into the evening. In Tempe’s recent festivities, a troupe of dancers in matching red shirts performed during a nighttime program that combined cultural celebration with outreach aimed at raising awareness of the holiday. Durden described the mix of solemn remembrance and joyful community as central to how Juneteenth resonates now: it provides an occasion to learn, to mourn, and to celebrate resilience and progress across generations.
A group of dancers in matching red shirts performs at a nighttime Juneteenth celebration in Tempe, part of community events to raise awareness about the holiday.
Durden highlighted the specific upcoming opportunity in Tempe for those wanting to participate and learn. The Tempe Juneteenth Celebration is scheduled at 660 S. Mill Ave. on June 20, beginning at 7 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public. She encouraged attendance not only for the entertainment but for the chance to listen to stories, ask questions and build a shared understanding of why June 19 has taken on new national prominence. “It is so beautiful to see everyone together when we celebrate,” Durden said. “There’s so many celebrations around the state and the country and it’s a great way to get people talking and to see the progress we’ve made.”
Durden’s approach combines historical detail with community engagement: producing materials aimed at children, speaking at local events and partnering with artists and organizers who bring Juneteenth’s history into public view. Her work underscores a broader, ongoing effort in many cities to move Juneteenth beyond a day off and toward a moment of collective learning. For people who want to mark the holiday by deepening their understanding, Durden said the combination of local celebrations, readings for young people and classroom inclusion offers a practical path forward without diminishing the event’s celebratory aspects.
Dr. Felicia Durden chairs Tempe's African American Advisory Committee, which organized the 13th Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Tempe History Museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 20 with hands-on activities, story time, performances and resources. She received the 2026 MLK Diversity Award in Education for advancing literacy, founding the committee's book club and planning Juneteenth and Black History Month events. (tempe.gov, tempenews.com)
The African American Advisory Committee that Durden chairs was formed in 2008 and worked with Tempe History Museum to publish a 2013 booklet, The African American Experience in Tempe, which was distributed to all Tempe schools and whose material has been incorporated into the museum’s exhibits; the committee also maintains an archive of more than 300 recorded oral histories.
The City of Tempe’s announcement of the 2026 MLK Diversity Award listed Durden in the Education category alongside other 2026 honorees, including Ashley Maddox, Billie Harris, Sreevarenya Jonnalagadda, Peer Solutions and Team Rubicon.
Local event listings show the downtown Juneteenth block-party portion of Tempe’s celebrations at 660 S. Mill Ave (Centerpoint on Mill) running from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., giving a specific end time for the evening program.