The Juneteenth Experience

Photos from the Oakland and Berkeley 2019 Junetheeth festivals last week.

Juneteenth celebrates the day when slaves in Texas were informed that slavery in the United States was officially over.

Although Oakland has held a Juneteenth festival for years, the Juneteenth festival in Berkeley (and Richmond) are known around the world due to its tradition of always taking place on Father's Day.

The Berkeley festival is especially well known after Berkeley city leaders tried their best to "kill" the festival in the early 2000s by imposing numerous "administrative mandates" on the festival-even going so far as saying the festival shouldn't take place during the Juneteenth due to the Fathers Day Holiday because city leaders felt Berkeley police officers needed to spend that time with their families.

Needless to say, after a massive community backlash, their attempts failed.

Credit: Oakland Photo Vault 2019