“I feel good. I feel free,” said Harris, 71. “I can talk to people I’ve known my whole life. It’s love.”’

Friends and family gathered around in a small huddle to talk, a scene that was replicated again and again Saturday afternoon throughout the Shattuck Picnic Grove, where the wafting smell of hamburgers, hot dogs, and pulled pork was all but inescapable.

As Alfreda Harris sank deeper into a lawn chair in Franklin Park Saturday, she languidly spread out her arms to enjoy the scorching sun overhead and blaring music from nearby speakers.

Some groups arrived as early as Friday evening to claim a coveted spot, set up a camping tent, and haul in portable grills. But the laid-back, neighborly barbecue — known as Roxbury HomeComing — is far more than a cookout on an idyllic summer day.


Coinciding with “June Nineteenth” — commonly shortened to “Juneteenth” — this annual nationwide tradition is deeply connected to African-American culture and its slavery past in the United States.

The origins of the day lie in the arrival of a Union general and his troops in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to free tens of thousands of African-Americans who were still in bondage two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Widespread celebrations ensued, though true liberation — particularly for those enslaved on plantations amid harvest season — was a gradual process.

“Today, we’re having fellowship, family, friends, camaraderie,” said Evelyn Thorpe, chair of The Roxbury HomeComing Committee. “Just come out and have a good time — eat, enjoy, and relax.”

Still, Thorpe, 72, acknowledged the gravity of the occasion and lingering civil-rights struggles, noting that Juneteenth isn’t a national holiday. Massachusetts, however, is one of 46 states that formally observe “Juneteenth Independence Day.”

Shelita Bailey said the barbecue was an opportunity to return to her roots — and break down stereotypes. Surrounded by alumnae sorority sisters talking and laughing in a long red tent, she smiled at the intergenerational scene, as young children, parents, and grandparents created new memories.


“Historically, this gives homage to our ancestors who fought so hard for us to be here,” Bailey, 47, said. “We’re respecting each other — there’s no violence or conflict.”

Across the park, Fred Albert, 51, of Roxbury, couldn’t stop beaming as he manned the grill, even though he’d been up since 5 a.m. to secure the picnic area. His family sat several feet away, chomping down on barbecue food heaped into aluminum foil serving trays.

“You get together with the community. It’s almost like a peace treaty to bring in the summer,” Albert said. “As long as we keep this going, we’ll be all right.”

Albert said it was at least his 10th time attending the Roxbury HomeComing.

Quontay Turner, an organizer for the Boston Young Black Professionals, said her group’s presence at the event helped out-of-state newcomers discover the city’s rich African-American legacy.

“This is the biggest showing of black Boston,” Turner, 30, said. “We’re a safe haven to reflect on how far we’ve come.”

Alison Kuznitz can be reached at alison.kuznitz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisonKuznitz.