Juneteenth was celebrated locally and across the nation this weekend.
The holiday celebrates the day in 1865 that all enslaved Black people learned they had been freed from bondage. Last year, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Residents celebrated during the annual Juneteenth Festival in Downtown San Jose on Saturday. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 41st year producing the Juneteenth in the Park Festival, this year called “Juneteenth in the Streets Festival.”
In Richmond, a large parade began at the Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park, where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival.
Celebrations also took place in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and across the nation.
After Opal Lee led hundreds in a walk through her Texas hometown to celebrate Juneteenth this weekend, the 95-year-old Black woman who helped successfully push for the holiday to get national recognition said it’s important that people learn the history behind it.
“We need to know so people can heal from it and never let it happen again,” said Lee.
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San Jose, CA – JUNE 18: Brianna Hockenhull high-fives with her child Nova Hockenhull(2) at the annual Juneteenth Festival in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 18, 2022. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 41st year producing the Juneteenth in the Park Festival this year called Juneteenth in the Streets Festival in San Jose. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group) RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 18: A Richmond police officer in a motorcycle rides past a line of Corvettes along South 37th Street in Richmond, Calif., during the Juneteenth parade on Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade started at Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Opal Lee pushes one of her great granddaughters in a stroller as she waves to musicians playing along the route during the 2022 Opal’s Walk for Freedom on Saturday, June 18, 2022, in Fort Worth. Lee, often referred to as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” led her annual two-and-a-half-mile walk, representing the number of years after the Emancipation Proclamation before enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP) San Jose, CA – JUNE 18: Makiah Hiley(16), a student from Oakland School for the Arts, rehearses the play “Every 28 Hours” with her schoolmates during the annual Juneteenth Festival in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 18, 2022. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 41st year producing the Juneteenth in the Park Festival this year called Juneteenth in the Streets Festival in San Jose. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group) RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 18: Members of the Richmond Steelers football team cheer and they ride past the new Juneteenth Freedom Underpass mural during the Juneteenth parade along South 37th Street in Richmond, Calif., on Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade started at Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) GALVESTON, TEXAS – JUNE 19: Community member Rebecca Jones participates in a service at the Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church on June 19, 2022 in Galveston, Texas. Galveston island is the birthplace of Juneteenth, the oldest known nationally celebrated event commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation stated that as of January 1, 1863, all enslaved people in the U.S. should be set free, but it was not until 2 years later, in 1865, that Galveston island gained its freedom. After years of Juneteenth not being recognized as a holiday, on June 19, 2019, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill officially recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday. The decision was later followed by President Joe Biden’s signing of the Juneteenth National Independence Day act, making it the first federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) San Jose, CA – JUNE 18: Residents celebrate the annual Juneteenth Festival in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 18, 2022. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 41st year producing the Juneteenth in the Park Festival this year called Juneteenth in the Streets Festival in San Jose. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group) Riders perform motorcycle tricks before the start of the third annual Juneteenth Drive-Thru Parade at Inglewood High School in Inglewood. Calif., Sunday, June 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 18: Spectators Devin Williams, right, and her grandchildren, Timothy Wright, 13, left, and Zaire Williams, 1, watch participants moving along South 37th Street in Richmond, Calif., during the Juneteenth parade on Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade started at Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) San Jose, CA – JUNE 18: Residents celebrate the annual Juneteenth Festival in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, June 18, 2022. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 41st year producing the Juneteenth in the Park Festival this year called Juneteenth in the Streets Festival in San Jose. (Wangyuxuan Xu/Bay Area News Group) RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 18: Members of the Get it Girl Fitness participate during the Juneteenth parade along Carlson Boulevard in Richmond, Calif., on Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade started at Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) Opal Lee, center, cheers as the Juneteenth flag is raised at Fort Worth City Hall at the conclusion of the 2022 Opal’s Walk for Freedom on Saturday, June 18, 2022, in Fort Worth. Lee, often referred to as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” led her annual two-and-a-half-mile walk, representing the number of years after the Emancipation Proclamation before enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. Behind Lee are U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, Democratic candidate for Governor Beto O”Rourke and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via AP) RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 18: Members of the Richmond Steelers football team ride past the new Juneteenth Freedom Underpass mural during the Juneteenth parade along South 37th Street in Richmond, Calif., on Saturday, June 18, 2022. The parade started at Booker T. Anderson Community Center and ended at Nicholls Park where the festivities continued as part of the Juneteenth Family Day and Festival. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
