Redding will celebrate the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth with a block party Thursday on Market Street Promenade in downtown.
Like they did in 2024, festivities will cap off with an evening concert by New Orleans style brass band MJ’s Brass Boppers and a traditional New Orleans-style second line parade, where people follow the band and jam to the music.
The program includes a vendor fair, along with food for sale and presentations from community guest speakers.
Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
Nationwide, Juneteenth celebrations traditionally include picnics and barbecues, family gatherings, parades, outdoor festivals and special religious services at places of worship, according to federal holiday websites.
Juneteenth decor and food are often red, a color symbolizing the blood shed by enslaved people during their fight for freedom.
Revelers dine on strawberries and other red fruit, going on to nibble red velvet cake or barbecued chicken with red sauces on Juneteenth. Refreshments often include red or pink beverages, including strawberry soda.
But the celebration carries a serious message.
Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
On June 19, 1865 — two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued — General Gordon Granger and an army of Union Soldiers went to Galveston, Texas to read a general order officially declaring enslaved people free.
The celebration of Juneteenth — a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteen” — began that day in Texas and has been observed ever since as a celebration of freedom as well as Black culture and education.
President Joe Biden signed legislation designating Juneteenth to be a federal holiday in 2021.
Celebrating Juneteenth in Redding
Juneteenth events, which are free, begin at 3:30 p.m. outside 1500 Market St. with music, food, vendor booths and tables with information about community resources, said community organizer Eddie McAllister, chairperson of the grassroots Shasta Coalition of African Americans for Community Health, Education and Empowerment, one of the groups putting on the event.
Jackie Morganfield, regional vice president of the SEIU Local 2015 labor union, will speak about Juneteenth’s history, as will digital analyst and community activist Laurie McNeill.
“We definitely want to educate people at Juneteenth (about) what it is all about,” said McAllister, who said all are welcomed.
During the celebration, youngsters can enjoy face painting, storytelling and games at Whistlestop Park at 1740 Market St., he said.
At about 6:45 p.m., he said, the band will play and lead people in the second line celebration parade, Mardi Gras style, followed by a performance on a stage set up outside on Market Street.
McAllister encouraged people to “to bring their dancing shoes and also bring a lawn chair because they might want to just sit and listen” to M.J.’s Brass Boppers’ concert.
For more information about Juneteenth, go to the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website at nmaahc.si.edu. For more about the Emancipation Proclamation, visit the U.S. National Archives website at archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation.
Record Searchlight reporter Jessica Skropanic contributed to this report.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, dining and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding’s Juneteenth party to bring brass band, ‘second line’ parade: Where to celebrate
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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