Have students do background research on the history of the federal holiday of Juneteenth using the internet or selected picture books or texts. Have a quick class discussion using the following questions:

• What were the origins of Juneteenth?
• Why was this declared a federal holiday in 2022 rather than earlier?
• How do you think Americans should commemorate and celebrate Juneteenth?

Place students into small groups and instruct each group to come up with a museum exhibit that teaches about Juneteenth and honors the history of emancipation. Each exhibit should include:

• A thesis statement in response to the guiding question of: to what extent did emancipation’s promise match its reality for Black Americans?
• At least three primary documents, each accompanied by a written paragraph that provides a description and an analysis linking the document to the group’s thesis statement. Ensure that there is no repetition in documents between groups; each group must find their own original sources.
• A discussion guide for the exhibit with questions for museum guests to consider

Set up all the group exhibits in one space–perhaps the school’s library or auditorium–and invite other students outside the class to visit the museum and engage with the group exhibits. Lead a closing discussion with the class and ask them to consider the guiding question (to what extent did emancipation’s promise match its reality for Black Americans?) one last time, in light of the various exhibits they created.