Juneteenth was celebrated locally and across the nation this weekend.
The holiday celebrates the day in 1865 that all enslaved Black people learned they had been freed from bondage. In 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a resolution establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day.
Residents celebrated during the annual Juneteenth Festival in downtown San Jose on Saturday. This is the African American Community Service Agency’s 43rd Annual “Juneteenth In the Streets Festival.”
The Alabama State University marching band performs at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
John Robertson gives his daughter Camille a vantage point to watch the battle of the bands at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Spectators watch the battle of the bands at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Trombonists from the Florida A & M University marching band perform during a battle of the bands at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The marching bands from Florida A & M and Alabama State perform a battle of the bands in the middle of South First Street in San Jose, Calif., during the Juneteenth in the Streets celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Amerys Seegars, 14, who will be attending Valley Christian High School this fall, sings the “Lift Every Voice,” the black national anthem during the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The Kuumba dance group opens up the entertainment at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Singers from the Emmanuel Baptist Church perform during the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Anthone Jackson and his son Amanee, 1, learn how to play the drums during a workshop at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in the SoFa District of San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Under a canopy of blooming jacaranda trees, vendor booths fill South First Street at the Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 15, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)