Celebrations all over Los Angeles County marked Juneteenth and they all shared one thing in common: A rich sense of history.
Juneteenth marks the anniversary of Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger reading General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. It began, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
Rep. Judy Chu speaks during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Photos from photographer Alfred Haymond on display during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Aretha Scruggs performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Boy Scout Troop 40 posts the colors during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) People sing along with Aretha Scruggs as she performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) People listen to speakers during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Rep. Judy Chu during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) People sing along with Aretha Scruggs as she performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) People take photos during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 9Rep. Judy Chu speaks during the Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration at Loma Alta Park in Altadena on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) ExpandU.S. post offices were closed and mail was not delivered Thursday. All federal offices, schools and banks were also closed.
At the newly re-opened Alta Loma Park in Altadena, a sold-out Juneteenth event offered a luncheon, with a program that included a preview of the upcoming Altadena Oral History Project, an Ellen Garrison Clark Scholarship Award ceremony and a quilt opportunity drawing.
Last weekend, residents observed the day a tad early, with events that included a fair-like celebration of the holiday coupled with a message of all-inclusive unity and inherent freedom for all people at the Metropolitan Baptist Church. The church played host to the happening, with its adjacent property on North Fair Oaks Avenue the site of dozens of vendors, nonprofit informational booths, food, activities and a stage of live music.
The Altadena Historical Society’s fourth annual Juneteenth celebration luncheon offered a preview of the Altadena oral history project titled, “Faces of Resilience: The African American Cultural Legacy Before & After the Eaton Canyon Fire.”
The community celebrated a related event event over the weekend, the Dena Juneteenth Celebration at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Altadena on Saturday.
“This is a day of liberty, a day of freedom, a day of justice, and a day of unity,” said Heavenly Hughes, director of My Pride Rise, lead organizer of the Altadena event.
“This is a day of liberty, a day of freedom, a day of justice, and a day of unity,” Hughes added.
The luncheon included the Ellen Garrison Clark Scholarship Award Ceremony, with scholarships awarded to local high school students in the spirit of Ellen Garrison Clark, the 19th century educator, abolitionist and early Civil Rights activist who spent the final two years of her life in Pasadena and is buried in Altadena.
“These kinds of community events are so important, as we’re trying to keep the bonds of our neighborhoods sustained, even while people are displaced,” said John Mayo of Altadena, who is leading a group called Altagether, which organizes neighborhood block captains to help residents stay in touch with what’s happening.
In Manhattan Beach, the city held a Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park, marking the second year of a city-sponsored event for the holiday. The ceremony held special significance, city spokesperson Alexandria Latragna said, as Bruce’s Beach is a pinnacle of Black history in Manhattan Beach.
A Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, ran a seaside resort for African American people in the 1920s on the beach below what’s now Bruce’s Beach Park. Manhattan Beach leadership at the time used eminent domain to take that land, on which now sits a Los Angeles County lifeguard station, as well as the homes of other Black people whose properties were on what’s now the parkland.
Community organizers in past years held Juneteenth events at the park to bring awareness to that history, honor the land’s past and the people from whom it was once taken.
That event shed light on the Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, who, in the 1920s, ran a seaside resort for Black people on two parcels below the land that would become Bruce’s Beach Park. The city at the time used eminent domain to take that land, as well as the homes of others whose properties were on what’s now parkland.
“A day like today reminds me that standing together as a community, lifting our voices together in song, making art and poetry- this is joyful and important. And I’m proud to be a part of it,” Mayor Amy Howorth said
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell also spoke at the Thursday morning event, continuing to highlight the former space of refuge for Black Angelenos and the importance it still holds.
The celebration in Leimert Park, meanwhile, billed as a “Black Family Reunion,” included many of the emotions that come with family reunions: hugs and kisses, shouts of joy, laughter and, of course, tears rooted in the past but also in happiness in being together in the present.
Celebrating Juneteenth Abiola Neff, 21, of Shine Muwasi, comes off the stage dancing as the women’s drum circle performs in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Angel Mora attends the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association’s Juneteenth festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, 2025 where he was collecting signatures for a $30 minimum wage in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Kingdom Day Princess Ashley Walker, Queen Mariah Allen and Prince Christopher Blake pose outside the Congress of Racial Equality in Leimert Park during Leimert Park Village Merchants Association’s Juneteenth festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, 2025. CORE puts on the annual Kingdom Day Parade honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Sydnee Harris, 7, of Arizona, gets an umbrella from a vendor during Leimert Park Village Merchants Association’s Juneteenth festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, 2025 as she visits her grandmother and aunties. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Will Bragg carries his daughter Zion, 3, with his wife Maya as they walk through the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association’s Juneteenth festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Ballet Fette Bu Senegal drummers perform on Juneteenth in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Chantrese Wright, of Pasadena, blesses her jewelry business Cr8tivegenes during the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association’s Juneteenth festival in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Shine Muwasi, a women’s drum circle, performs on Juneteenth in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) A crowd watches Ballet Fette Bu Senegal drummers perform on Juneteenth in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Shine Muwasi, a women’s drum circle, performs on Juneteenth in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 10Celebrating Juneteenth Abiola Neff, 21, of Shine Muwasi, comes off the stage dancing as the women’s drum circle performs in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Leimert Park Village Merchants Association hosted the Juneteenth celebration. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) ExpandThis year’s event was hosted by the Leimert Park Village Merchants Association, kicking off with a women’s drum circle ceremony. Performances included live music by a 30-member jazz band, R&B and reggae and DJ sets throughout the event. In addition, a fashion show was scheduled presented by Sole Folks.
Attendees enjoyed an art exhibit, a children’s area, line dancing, poetry and storytelling. The get-together featured Black-owned businesses that offered ‘food for the soul’ options and merchandise.
“Hosting Juneteenth in Leimert Park is deeply meaningful for our community. It’s a time for Black people to celebrate our culture, unity, and history — but it’s also an invitation for all communities to come together in harmony” wrote Queen Aminah, head of the Leimert Village Association and owner of Queen Aminah Clothing, in a statement.
Aminah added: “While many young people may not fully know the history of Juneteenth due to gaps in education, this celebration offers a powerful way to reconnect, honor our roots, and show the next generation the strength of the village. We welcome everyone to join us in this vibrant expression of culture, joy, and togetherness.”
Mayor Amy Howorth speaks during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Supervisor Holly Mitchell speaks during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) From left, Susi Collins and six-year-old Joaquin Collins sing-a-long to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Dr. Anthony Lee speaks on the history of Juneteenth during a ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park in Manhattan Beach on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Mayor Amy Howorth speaks during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Attendees of Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony paint butterflies at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Mira Costa High School Choir’s Jackie Beaupre sings “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Janet Allen welcomes attendees to Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Supervisor Holly Mitchell speaks during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 9Mayor Amy Howorth speaks during Manhattan Beach’s Juneteenth ceremony at Bruce’s Beach Park on Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG) Expand
Earlier, as dawn broke, “Opal’s Walk for Freedom” trekked from Hillery T. Broadous Elementary School to Pacoima City Hall. The walk coincided with a similar event in Fort Worth, Texas, in which the event’s namesake, Opal Lee, participated.
Lee, now 98, campaigned for decades to make Juneteenth a federal holiday — a quest that came to fruition on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, with Lee in attendance for the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
Lee is known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for the walking campaign she began when she was 89 to get the day declared a national holiday. She describes herself as “just a little old lady in tennis shoes getting in everybody’s business.”
The 2 1/2-mile distance honors the 2 1/2 years it took to inform the enslaved people of Texas of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on Sept. 22, 1862, declaring all slaves free in Confederate territory as of Jan. 1, 1863.
Following the Pacoima walk, signs were unveiled designating the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Kewen Avenue as Nancy C. Avery Square, honoring the first Black postmaster of a “first class” post office since Reconstruction.
Avery was the postmaster of the Pacoima Post Office from 1961 until her retirement in 1984. “First class” post offices are determined based on revenue, and in 1961 the Pacoima Post Office was among the 11.6% of the locations that qualified for that designation, according to a motion by L.A. City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez that designated the intersection in Avery’s honor.
Before her appointment by Postmaster General J. Edward Day, the only other Black postmasters had worked in small rural post offices, according to an obituary of Avery supplied by organizers of the event, citing information from the U.S. Postal Service.
Avery was also an active volunteer with the Democratic Party and NAACP and president of what is now the Board of Animal Services Commissioners. She died in 1992 at age 72.
At Pasadena City Hall, The Juneteenth Celebration and NAACP 4rd Annual Roller Jam featured family-friendly activities, arts and crafts by Armory Center for the Arts, a live DJ, and community resources.
Juneteenth is recognized at least as an observance in every state, and nearly 30 states and Washington, D.C., have designated it as a permanent paid or legal holiday through legislation or executive action.
The holiday has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations, but became more widely observed after being designated a federal holiday in 2021 by former President Joe Biden, who was expected to attend an event in Galveston.
The celebrations come as President Donald Trump’s administration has worked to ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or DEI, in the federal government and remove content about Black American history from federal websites.
Officially celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth marks the moment in 1865 when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to the last enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas — more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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