Youth lift their voices at Boeing-hosted Juneteenth events

Boeing celebrated Juneteenth by hosting Boys & Girls Clubs of America members on visits to the National Archives Museum and to Boeing headquarters. 

Students viewed the original Emancipation Proclamation at the Archives in Washington, D.C. From there, they traveled to the company’s offices in Arlington, Virginia, to participate in a panel discussion, a networking lunch, and a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activity.

A Boeing grant brought club members from across the United States to the National Advocacy & STEM Summit hosted by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington’s Center of Transformation. 

The Center of Transformation boosts young people’s awareness of global issues and their ability to make positive change. It focuses on youth advocacy; STEM; workforce development; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Juneteenth is held every year on June 19 to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. That date was chosen in remembrance of the day in 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation issued in January 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln was finally ordered to be enforced in Texas.

Boeing also expanded its partnership with the National Archives Foundation.

The company’s donation will help the Archives maintain the fragile Emancipation Proclamation documents on permanent display beginning in 2026. The expanded partnership will also support related programs and resources for people around the world to experience. 

“Having the Emancipation Proclamation on permanent display among America’s founding documents is an important step forward in telling a more complete story of America’s past,” said Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. 

“With this investment, Boeing hopes to encourage visitors to be more civically engaged, and to have robust conversations about what it means to build a truly equitable and inclusive society.”

Read the National Archives press release.