Events honoring Juneteenth are under way in the Bay Area. The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when some of the last enslaved people in Texas learned that they were free — more than two years after slavery officially ended in the United States.
An art installation will be unveiled on Friday at Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse. The installation, called "Monumental Reckoning," was created by Bay Area artist Dana King.
The piece is composed of 350 sculptures that represent the first African people to be abducted and enslaved in the U.S. Each ancestor will be standing in judgement around the pedestal where a statue of slave owner Francis Scott Key stood until protesters removed it in 2020. King’s installation will be on public display for two years.
On Thursday, more than 100 people gathered in front of San Francisco City Hall and braved the summer heat to listen to speakers and demand racial justice and equity for Black San Franciscans.
"Here in San Francisco, we are experiencing trauma, pain, suffering in all parts of our lives ... education, mass incarceration, homelessness, housing and mental health," said Phelicia Jones, founder of the community organization Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community. The group, which organized Thursday's Juneteenth kickoff rally, called for more resources toward the city's Black community and for officials to work on eliminating health and education disparities and reducing mass incarceration, among other things.
The Bay Area has a long history of marking Juneteenth. At the rally, Mayor London Breed reminisced about growing up in the city and attending events.
"The pony rides, the carnival, the Black cowboys. We put on our best clothes," Breed said. "But you know what? There was a history ... It felt good despite the challenges that our community continues to face. It felt good to be Black in San Francisco."
This year’s Juneteenth is especially significant with the federal government officially recognizing the day as a holiday. It also comes roughly a year after the killing of George Floyd galvanized the country around the issue of racial justice. And Black communities throughout the country are still reeling from the toll of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speakers at the rally reminded attendees that Juneteenth is also an opportunity to reflect and to keep fighting for equality.
Supervisor Shamann Walton spoke about the city’s efforts to provide more resources for Black residents, including setting up a reparations task force and reinvesting $120 million from the police budget toward workforce development, heath, cultural and housing programs.
"This fight is 365 days a year, not just on Juneteenth holiday," said Walton.
“Let Juneteenth be a day for us to remember that we still are in the fight, in the struggle," said Sheryl Evans Davis, executive director of the city's Human Rights Commission.
Click here for more Bay Area events marking Juneteeth.
KQED's Gabriella Frenes contributed to this report.
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