Juneteenth at The Studio: a little history, a vendor day, and a reading list

Juneteenth is Friday, June 19, 2026. Here is what is happening at both of our Pilates studios in Atlanta, why the day matters, and a small reading list to take with you.

A little history

Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with General Order No. 3, informing the last 250,000 enslaved people in the state that they had been legally free for two and a half years. It is the day American freedom finally caught up to its own promise. President Biden made it a federal holiday in 2021.

It is a day of both grief and celebration. The grief, because freedom for some Americans arrived years late, by mail, on horseback. The celebration, because Black communities did not wait for the country to catch up. They built the holiday themselves, in churches and parks and front yards, and have carried it forward for 160 years.

Three stories worth knowing

Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”

At 89 years old, Opal Lee began walking 2.5 miles a day across America, one mile for every year Texas was free without knowing it, to push for Juneteenth as a national holiday. She finally watched it happen at the White House in 2021. She still walks every June.

Jack Yates and Emancipation Park

In 1872, a formerly enslaved Houston pastor named Jack Yates raised $800 to buy 10 acres of land so Black families would have somewhere to gather and celebrate Juneteenth, since they were barred from public parks. He named it Emancipation Park. It is still there today.

Freedom with conditions

The text of General Order No. 3 is striking: it declared “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves,” and then, in the same breath, told the formerly enslaved to “remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages.” Freedom arrived with conditions. Knowing the full text is part of knowing the day.

Vendor day at both studios

On June 19 we are hosting two Black-owned wellness vendors at our West Midtown and Emory studios. Come for a class, stay for a treat.

Platinum Oasis with Rebecca Davis

Hand-poured candles and body care, Atlanta-made. Rebecca will be set up at West Midtown from 8 AM to 11 AM, and at Emory from 12 PM to 4:30 PM.

Juice It Up ATL with Lindsey

Cold-pressed juices and smoothies. Lindsey will be at Emory from 8 AM to 12 PM, then at West Midtown from 4 PM to 7 PM. Stop by after your reformer Pilates class, hydrate, say hi.

A class pack on us, June 19 only

To mark the day, we are offering 20% off our 5-class pack with code JUNETEENTH, valid Friday, June 19 only. If you have been meaning to commit to a few classes this summer, this is a good moment. Grab the 5-pack here, or browse the schedule first.

The Juneteenth reading list

Six titles we are reading this month. Three for adults, two for kids, one cookbook. Pace yourself.

The Warmth of Other Suns — Isabel Wilkerson

A Pulitzer Prize-winning epic tracing the Great Migration of six million Black Americans who fled the Jim Crow South between 1915 and 1970. Wilkerson follows three people across decades to tell a sweeping, intimate history of how this movement reshaped the country.

The Color of Law — Richard Rothstein

A meticulously documented argument that racial segregation in America was not accidental but the result of deliberate government policy: zoning, redlining, public housing, and federal lending rules. Rothstein shows how those decisions built the segregated cities we still live in.

Four Hundred Souls — edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain

A community history spanning 400 years, told through 90 writers (historians, journalists, poets, novelists) who each cover a five-year period. The result is a chorus of voices forming one collective, multifaceted account of the Black American experience.

The Juneteenth Story — Alliah L. Agostini, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud (ages 6-9)

An illustrated children’s book explaining the history of Juneteenth, from the Emancipation Proclamation to the arrival of Union troops in Galveston on June 19, 1865, and how the holiday is celebrated today.

Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free — Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo

A picture-book biography of Opal Lee, the activist who campaigned to make Juneteenth a national holiday, including her famous walks to raise awareness. A story of persistence and freedom for young readers.

Watermelon and Red Birds — Nicole A. Taylor

Billed as the first cookbook centered on Juneteenth, it offers modern recipes for summer celebrations, reclaiming foods like watermelon and red drinks while honoring African American culinary tradition and the holiday’s spirit of joy and freedom.

New on the schedule: Soundbath + Stretch

Starting Thursday, we have a new class with Toniann at our Emory studio: Soundbath + Stretch, Thursdays at 8 PM. A slow, low-key wind-down into your weekend, with a full-body stretch and live sound bath. Bring a friend. Find it on the schedule.

Heads up: shortened schedule on July 4

We will be open at both studios on July 4 with a shorter class lineup. The schedule is live now, so plan ahead and grab your spot early.

See you in the studios

However you spend the day, whether that is a slow morning, a Pilates class, a barbecue, or a quiet hour with a book from the list above, we are glad to share it with you. Atlanta is a Juneteenth city in every way that matters, and we are proud to celebrate it from our two reformer Pilates studios in Emory and West Midtown.

New to The Studio? Start here with one of our new-client offers, or browse the full class schedule.

Love,
Kelly Jackson, Founder
The Studio Pilates · Atlanta