Juneteenth (June 19), which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021 – but it’s been celebrated across different regions of America for more than 150 years, dating back to an initial cluster of church-based festivities held throughout Texas in 1866. New traditions evolved as the holiday spread across the country, and local celebrations may include everything from cookouts and music festivals to lessons on African-American culture and heritage.

In honor of the occasion, we asked Avanade employees Floydine Fitzgerald and Tangela Nichols to reflect on the different ways they came to observe Juneteenth, and why it’s crucial for organizations to uplift the ideals and history behind the holiday.

Black Americans hail from diverse backgrounds, with a myriad of unique experiences to match. So, unsurprisingly, there’s no single, universal way to celebrate Juneteenth – and Floydine and Tangela are proof of that.

Although they both currently live in Atlanta, Floydine and Tangela each grew up in different regions (Floydine in Kansas City, and Tangela in south Florida) with different cultural traditions. In Kansas City – an area with a long history of Juneteenth celebrations – Floydine would attend big, yearly events filled with food, family and major musical acts, including a memorable performance from Al Green. The festivities always felt like a family reunion, and directly influenced her desire to continue celebrating Juneteenth once she became an adult and had her own children. Nowadays, she and her family attend an annual Juneteenth festival in Atlanta that’s full of food trucks, performance stages, drumlines, a parade and tons of other multicultural activities.

Tangela, on the other hand, didn’t grow up celebrating Juneteenth. But her family has always been politically involved and her niece works for the Biden administration, so it became important for her to begin observing Juneteenth after it was first designated a federal holiday in 2021. She’s loved getting to delve into her family’s history and heritage in the years since, whether through get-togethers or exploring traditional recipes.

Although Juneteenth falls on a Monday this year, festivities typically occur on the third Saturday of June – and Floydine and Tangela both plan on celebrating the weekend in our own ways. Floydine is once again headed to the Atlanta Juneteenth festival for a few days of family time, while Tangela is getting a cooking lesson in Southern food from her mom to preserve family recipes for future generations.

“Food has always been central to my family and our traditions revolve around that,” Tangela says. “I didn’t learn how to cook from my mom – my recipes are more influenced by TV chefs like Julia Child and Ina Garten. My sister sat on the kitchen counter and learned from my mom, so cooking has become a fun competition between us. My grandmother died recently, and a big regret is not sitting with her and learning her recipes. She was an amazing cook, and a lot of her recipes are now lost. I didn’t want to make the same mistake with my mom.”

Juneteenth has long been an occasion for celebrating family and community, so Floydine and Tangela say they’re glad to spend the occasion having fun and making new traditions with the people they love. At Avanade, members of INSPIRE – the Black Employee Network – are hosting a virtual Juneteenth block party where employees will be able to drop in different “rooms” for cooking demos, contests and trivia games.

“This is right in line with Avanade, in terms of how it makes an effort to see all people, and to celebrate all people, too,” Floydine says.

Juneteenth honors the end of one of the country’s most horrific legacies. At the same time, it offers an opportunity to celebrate all the achievements, traditions and diversity within America’s Black communities – and for organizations like Avanade to continue showing support and solidarity. Whether you’re spending time with family, attending a lecture about African-American history, enjoying Southern food or doing something entirely different this year, have a very meaningful Juneteenth!