8 hours ago
Philadelphia caps off Juneteenth holiday weekend with parade, festival in West Philly
On one of the hottest days of the year, people lined the street in West Philadelphia on Sunday for the city's Juneteenth parade.
"Everyone is just so friendly and cordial. I love it," Geraldine Drakes said.
"It's a great thing to see like-minded people get along, and hopefully with the state of the country and the world right now, we need more of this," Johney Jenkins said.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker helped lead the parade down South 52nd Street.
It was a showcase of unity in the city to honor an important day in our nation's history.
"I just like seeing us all get together besides a funeral. Seeing us all together out here uniting. It's not even just all Black. It's White people out here showing the love, too. It's a beautiful thing seeing everybody together as one," Tameka Morris said.
The holiday, which is officially June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
"It's sad that it took so long to become a national holiday," Jenkins said. "The liberation of any people should be celebrated. Not only Americans, Black Americans, brown Americans, yellow Americans, everybody. It's a great thing to see, and hopefully we can build off of this as a community."
The Juneteenth celebration continued at Malcolm X Park. The festival included food, music and vendors of all kinds.
The spirit of community was on display. People said it was great to see everyone come together.
"I think the city gets a ton of negative shine sometimes and I think this is an amazing example of overall truth of Blackness, of Black history and Black culture," Christopher Crawford said.
It was a day that reminded us all of where we've been and also how far we've come.
