This year marks the 155th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching the enslaved in Texas. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, or Cel-Liberation Day, is an African-American holiday celebrating the official end of slavery in the United States.
Miss Juneteenth, a coming of age story about pageantry and personal power, premiered on Friday, June 19, 2020.
In celebration of the storied holiday, the film follows former Miss Juneteenth beauty queen played by Nicole Beharie, a hard-working single mother, as she guides her teenage daughter through the same pageant, with hopes that the lessons, maturity, and opportunities will give her a different life.
Writer and director Channing Godfrey Peoples said, “As a girl growing up in Texas, I marveled at the annual Miss Juneteenth winner gliding across the stage with hope on her face. Before I understood the significance of the pageant and its purpose of instilling pride and self-worth in the ladies who were crowned its winner, I was fascinated by the pageantry: it’s contestants were young, hopeful African-American women.”
Miss Juneteenth was released digitally and On Demand on Friday, June 19, 2020.
