Advertisement
Boston's Morning Newsletter
Ways to celebrate Juneteenth 2025 in Boston
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
The Dedham courthouse will be much quieter — and less pink — today. The Karen Read trial that captured the nation finally came to a close yesterday after a jury found Read not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. She was, however, found guilty of a lesser charge of drunk driving and faces a year of probation. Click here for a summary of Read's two-trial saga.
Now, to other news:
Today is Juneteenth. The recently minted federal holiday commemorates the day slavery fell in Galveston, Texas — one of the last places Black people remained enslaved in the U.S. after the Civil War. To mark the occasion, the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus partook in the annual Juneteenth flag raising ceremony at the State House yesterday. The Embrace Ideas Festival, which annually coincides with Juneteenth, also began yesterday at MassArt’s campus and will run through Friday. (Tickets are, unfortunately, sold out.) This year's festival theme is "Joy, Power, and Prosperity."
- Other ways to celebrate: Four Boston museums are offering free admission today in honor of Juneteenth: The Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute for Contemporary Art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of African American History. (At the latter, the National Park Service will also lead two afternoon tours where visitors can explore Underground Railroad routes enslaved people would have traveled on Beacon Hill.) The city also has a list of events here.
- A little history lesson: Though Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn't until 1865 that enslaved people in Galveston learned of their freedom. Noelle Trent, president of the Museum of African American History, told WBUR's CiCi Yu the holiday honors all emancipation days across the country. "It's not just that Galveston moment, but there are so many other days of emancipation, celebration of liberation that happened all over the country," she said. "And that becomes like a collective way for us to honor that moment when people found out that they were no longer enslaved."
- PSA: Off today and interested in running a few errands? Check out our handy list of what's open and closed in Boston.
Advertisement
Food accessibility report card: According to data from the Greater Boston Food Bank's annual report on food access and hunger in Massachusetts, the number of people in the state without enough to eat is rising.
- The Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham found that about 2 million Massachusetts adults — more than one in three residents— faced food insecurity in 2024. About a quarter experienced the most severe kind of food insecurity, skipping meals or going a day without food last year. This trend comes as grocery prices have been significantly impacted by inflation and rising costs in the past few years.
- Possible solutions: The report suggests solving the issue of food insecurity in Massachusetts would cost around $2 billion annually, averaging out to a total of $62 per week per household. Report authors also say the expansion of food assistance programs like SNAP and WIC, which face looming cuts under the Trump administration, could also help to alleviate the problem. "We need to look to our philanthropic partners and private sector stakeholders as envisioned by the national strategy to help fill in some of the gaps," Congressman Jim McGovern told WBUR. "But make no mistake, private funds will never be a replacement for our federal basic needs programs."
- Also feeling the pinch: pet food pantries. Andrea Castinetti, the founder of the Central Massachusetts Pet Pantry in Worcester, told WBUR the demand to provide food, litter and other supplies to pet-owners has tripled in the last year, thanks to the rising cost of living.
Bonds, train bonds: The T is planning to sell more than $900 million in municipal bonds to help cover its $700 million budget shortfall. Bloomberg News reports the T hopes to use the money to upgrade trains and fare machines, and purchase a few new commuter rail cars.
- In April, the T advanced a budget that would increase the agency's spending by 7% (aka $222 million). The budget gap is expected to grow to $500 million by 2028, according to pro-forma financial forecasts from February.
P.S.— More restaurants have been gently demanding parents "keep an eye on their dang kids." The requests have sparked a lively debate around how businesses and parents should handle unruly children in restaurants, cafes and breweries. We want to know what you think. Should kids be allowed at breweries or running around your local pizzeria? Do you remember a time a restaurant's policy was surprising? Let us know by replying to this email. We may connect you with a producer for a future story.
