NBC New England, NBC 10 Boston and NBC Sports Boston are the proud media partners of the annual Embrace Ideas Festival hosted by Embrace Boston. The festival takes place June 14-16, the three days leading up to the Juneteenth holiday weekend.
The Festival, based on the arts, ideas, culture and public scholarship, is an annual celebration of Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. Embrace Boston invites the community to experience keynote addresses, panels, and live music.
“We want The Embrace Ideas Festival to create a greater sense of inclusion around America’s first true Independence Day,” said Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston. “This annual celebration will provide our communities with the tools necessary for everyone to celebrate the holiday while creating a safe space for learning, ideas and enjoying music together.”
“Our goal is to shed light on these stories and focus on the Juneteenth celebration and its importance to every person in every community,” said Chris Wayland, president and general manager of NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, NBC Sports Boston and NECN. “We will continue to give each viewer a voice through our English and Spanish storytelling.”
The festival will kick off Wednesday with Embrace Boston’s first Juneteenth Concert on the Boston Common, hosted by NBC10 Boston morning host Latoyia Edwards. For the first formal event at The Embracememorial since its opening, the team will be joined by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who will perform alongside The Embrace Choir. NBC10 Boston will have live coverage on its 11 a.m. newscast
On the final day of the festival, Embrace Boston and NBC10 Boston’s Kwani Lunis will present “The Embrace Honors,” honoring community leaders and Roxbury himself for his commitment and leadership in being a catalyst for change in our communities.
“I am grateful to Embrace Boston for creating community spaces to encourage and celebrate Black voices at their Juneteenth Festival,” Wu said. “I look forward to coming together through music, community, and conversation to share and reflect on experiences.”
Following the ceremony, Embrace Boston will kick off the weekend of June 16 with The Embrace Ideas Block Party at Roxbury Community College from 2:30 pm to 8:00 pm. The evening celebration will be a joyous night of dance, music, and community. NBC10 Boston and Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra will have live coverage on their evening newscasts.
In addition to broadcasting the festival, NBC10 Boston will air the Embrace Boston film “Welcome The Embrace” on Monday, June 19 at 7 p.m. The film, directed by John Adekoje, Miranda Adekoje, Noah Christofer, Darrus Sands, will also premiere during the Roxbury Film Festival at the end of the month. There will be a Q&A at the premiere hosted by NBC10 Boston news anchor Glenn Jones.
Click here to see the full list of Festival programming, panelists and featured attendees.
