Two local organizations, The CRayProject and Urban Society Long Beach, have partnered to host a three-day celebration of Juneteenth that will include a professional networking event, motorcade, block party and brunch.
“I think it’s very great that so many people are tapping into this, celebrating in ways that they see fit because it’s very necessary and very needed in our culture and people need to know the history of it as well,” said Chatiera Ray, founder of the CRayProject. “It’s just as important as the Fourth of July.”
Juneteenth commemorates when the last African Americans kept in chattel slavery in the United States were finally freed by Union soldiers.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted in 1863, African Americans were still enslaved in states that were under Confederate control. The last enslaved African Americans were held in Texas until Union troops, many of whom were Black, arrived on June 19, 1865 and informed them that they were now free.
The City of Long Beach recognized Juneteenth as an official day of celebration in June 2021.
This marks the third year that The CRayProject and Urban Society Long Beach have hosted a Juneteenth celebration for the Long Beach community.
“We appreciate all the support that we’ve gotten over the past couple of years,” said Wes Porter of Urban Society Long Beach. “We just want to continue to grow the event and grow awareness for the holiday of Juneteenth. It’s very important in our community.”
For this year’s celebration, the two nonprofits partnered with the nonprofit organization Project Optimism to kick-off the three-day celebration with a networking event for professionals to connect with one another on Friday, June 16.
The networking event will be held at On The Rocks Bar & Grill, located at 5755 Pacific Coast Hwy., from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Saturday, a motorcade and block party will be held at the Uptown Commons in North Long Beach from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The public is invited to decorate their vehicles and participate in the motorcade. Vehicles will start lining up at Martin Luther King Park at 4 p.m., before departing at 4:30 for the northside of Uptown Commons.
The block party will feature between 10 to 12 vendors, performances, music and more.
The final event will be a brunch that corresponds with Father’s Day on Sunday, honoring both Juneteenth and Black fathers. General admission to the brunch costs $18 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
To keep up with The CRayProject and Urban Society Long Beach, follow them on Instagram @crayproject and @urbansocietylb.
