26 Jun Richmond Celebrates Juneteenth

“Being a Californian with Texan roots, I’ve known about Juneteenth my whole life,” said Kamji Ansley, who sold merchandise at Richmond’s Juneteenth festival decorated with the original colors of the Juneteenth flag.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

The city of Richmond hosted its annual Juneteenth Parade and Festival on Saturday, continuing the decades-long tradition of honoring the holiday also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day — two and a half years after the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation — when Union soldiers informed enslaved African Americans in Texas that they were free.

This year marks the third anniversary since President Biden signed a bill recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday in the United States.

Hundreds of parade participants, some marching and others in a vehicle, met at Kennedy High School to march to Nicholl Park where a festival was held.

“I make sure that I come back and celebrate Richmond’s Juneteenth, because they did it when there wasn’t any federal funding and a federal holiday,” said 54-year-old Richmond resident Kamji Ansley.

The event began with Richmond High School taking the lead with marching and music through the streets on the way to Nicholl Park.

Many residents watched the parade from outside their homes and some congregated in different locations along the route, like the Juneteenth mural on the South 37th Street underpass.

 

The parade climaxed at the entrance to Nicholl Park where an announcer introduced the paraders as they reached the park. Many awaited the line of Corvettes and other stylish cars that ended the parade.

 

At the park, dozens of community organizations, local companies and food vendors like CJ’s Barbecue and Fish, Snapper’s Seafood, Cousins Maine Lobster Truck and More Liife Ice populated the large lawn in the front, ready to serve attendants.

Ansley was able to catch some of the parade, though she was concentrating on setting up for the festival.

But to her, the parade is an all too familiar memory as she participated in the parade’s drill team in the ’80s after moving to Richmond in 1979.

“Being a Californian with Texan roots, I’ve known about Juneteenth my whole life,” Ansley said, adding that her great-great-great-grandmother Molly Shepard was 11 years old on that momentous 1865 day.

Ansley sold Juneteenth flags with the original colors red, white and blue just like the American Flag. She said she was disappointed that last year Juneteenth was “smothered” with Pan-African and Carribean colors.

She worries that, as with many holidays that become federal, there is a wave of commercialization that crashes on top of authentic celebration.

“I think it is very important we keep Black American culture and our ethnicity alive,” she said.

The Juneteenth celebration featured many Black artists on two stages.

On the main, multiple artists rapped, sang and recited poetry, and the Juneteenth Planning Commission honored community members and public servants for their work, among them Betty Reid Soskin and Police Chief Bisa French.

 

At one of the baseball fields in the back of the park, a children’s section hosted inflated jumper slides and obstacle courses as well as vendors from Contra Costa College’s Extended Opportunity Programs and Services Department and other community organizations.

 

And another stage was set up there by Empowering Youth Through Music where youth artists performed throughout the day.

 

Ray Adams, an 83-year-old Richmond resident, has attended many of the city’s Juneteenth celebrations.

“I’ve been coming for over 40 years,” he said.

Having seen so many parades over the years, he said this time, he was there to relax and enjoy the food — “My mind is on fish” — and time with his grandchild.