Ebony Jerry portrays Mary Bowser, a Union spy within the Confederate White House during the Civil War, as part of the Atlanta History Center’s Juneteenth program. (Phil Mosier)

The Atlanta History Center held its Juneteenth family program, commemorating the 1865 emancipation of slaves in Texas and the end of slavery in the United States, on June 15 and 16.

Stormy Webster reads with son Logan, 3, about Martin Luther King Jr. during the Juneteenth event. (Phil Mosier)

The program allowed visitors to the museum at 130 West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead to explore the themes of freedom and family history through talks, theater workshops and storytelling.

From left, actors Morris Hill, Danye Brown and Shawn MacLean make a live Facebook video after their performance of “The Order of Freedom,” which explained the history of Juneteeth. (Phil Mosier)

Observance highlights include author Christina Proenza-Coles on Saturday discussing her new book “American Founders: How People of African Descent Established Freedom in the New World”; and Kenyatta D. Berry, co-host of the popular PBS series Genealogy Roadshow, on Sunday discussing genealogy and her new book “The Family Tree Toolkit.”

John Ruch is an Atlanta-based journalist. Previously, he was Managing Editor of Reporter Newspapers.