Juneteenth Commemorates the End of Slavery, But Work Remains – Pasadena Now (2024)

This week marks the third celebration of the Juneteenth federal holiday.

But while people revel in the moment with food, dancing and celebration others say there is still work to be done.

“We can’t forget about the atrocities that happened and all the people that died to make this the great country that it is,” City Councilmember Tyron Hampton said at Monday’s City Council meeting. “I think that we are better altogether and that’s why it’s important that everybody’s working with one another, but I think it’s really important that we recognize the people that built this country.”

This past weekend, the NAACP celebrated the holiday with a rollerjam event that included resource tables from the City of Pasadena, vendors showcasing Black art, and local businesses.

My TRIBE Rise kicked off a separate event with a Freedom March, which served as a victory lap allowing guests to come together for a peaceful demonstration of progress in Pasadena and Altadena.

That event also included resource opportunities, including health and financial literacy clinics and community building and networking.

“It’s important that Juneteenth is celebrated in a practical and intentional manner that educates and also actively works to implement policies that will help lessen the impacts that historical and systematic inequities have caused against Black people,” said former City Councilmember Jacque Robinson.

Heavenly Hughes of My TRIBE Rise said the event provided substance and belonging.

“As we walked past where Chris Ballew was brutally beaten and Charles Towns was killed, we shared the message to end community and police violence, and concluded by congregating at Metropolitan Baptist Church to break bread, commune, heal, embrace and reconstruct what a healthy and happy community looks like,” Hughes told Pasadena Now. “What freedom must look like. Providing and injecting principles of right standing and providing resources for every aspect of insecurities and challenges we may face in life. Community building in full effect, at its finest. It was truly a victorious day as we raised the Juneteenth flag, acknowledging our history and looking forward to our future as a community, rebuilding from the damages of slavery.”

According to former District 4 City Council Candidate Char Bland, who now leads the National Women’s Political Caucus Greater Pasadena Area

“Juneteenth is a crucial reminder of the ongoing fight for freedom and equality for all Americans, especially Black women,” said Bland. “Black women have long been at the forefront of social and political movements, yet their contributions are often overlooked. Despite facing systemic barriers and discrimination, Black women continue to persevere and excel in all aspects of society.

Bland said it is imperative that we recognize Black Women’s resilience and advocate for their rights, as they have had to work twice as hard to achieve the same level of success as their counterparts.

“Black women have historically been marginalized and oppressed, yet they have shown time and time again their strength, intelligence, and resilience. It is essential to acknowledge and uplift their voices, as they bring a unique perspective and valuable contributions to our society.

“Black women deserve equal opportunities and recognition for their achievements, and it is our duty to support and advocate for their rights. Juneteenth serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality, and we must continue to fight for justice and empowerment for all Black women.”

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2022, Black women earned only 70% as much as White men.

“Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of African Americans from slavery in the United States,” said Councilmember Justin Jones. “It should serve as a solemn reminder of the historical injustices, loss of life, and systemic dehumanization endured by Black individuals. I believe it is our responsibility to confront these past atrocities, acknowledge their impact, and work towards a future that promotes freedom and equality for all members of our community and City.”

The story does not end in Galveston

According to the story most often told, the last slaves in Texas were freed on June 19, 1865 when Major Gordon General Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas.

Granger proclaimed the freedom of all slaves in the state under General Order No. 3.

“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” the order read in part. “This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”

The order came two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves held in Southern Confederate states in rebellion against the Union.

That story has been used to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States.

However, slaves in several states fighting with the Union were not freed by the proclamation.

In fact, in Delaware and Kentucky, where soldiers fought on both sides during the Civil War, slavery persisted for nearly six months after Granger arrived in Galveston, when the ratification of the 13th Amendment abolished slavery.

That history is not taught in school.

“Black history is not a mandatory subject, but history is and Black history should be included in that mandate,” said Michelle Richardson Bailey.

Freedom Denied

Although the order declared an “absolute equality of rights” Neither Juneteenth nor the Emancipation Proclamation provided those rights.

Jim Crow laws quickly sprung up in the South and Black people were subject to segregation, sundown laws and their ability to vote, own property, work, get a decent education were either limited or denied.

Granger, the very man who announced freedom in Galveston, told African Americans they should remain on their plantations and sign labor agreements.

And just like in slavery, rape and brutal beatings continued.

According to the Equal Justice Initiative, 4,440 people were lynched between 1877 and 1950.

“My mother, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama, taught my sisters and I the value of freedom from Jim Crow laws that she grew up under,” said former Pasadena police officer and Assembly Candidate Phlunté Riddle. “She insisted on education and how to educate ourselves in multiple areas to include financial literacy to gain financial freedom. Mom would often say, ‘knowledge is power, but don’t wait for anyone to give you power or knowledge.’”

“In the one hundred and fifty-nine years since the Emancipation Day of June 19,1865, yes, we are leaps ahead of those days, however; equity in housing, health, education, and business are still elusive dreams for many, due to a lack of knowledge and power.”

Local issues

Although Jim Crow laws were most prevalent in the South, Pasadena still had problems with race.

According to Pasadena PIO, a blog once compiled by former Public Information Officer Ann Erdman, in 1914 Mrs. Everett Wellington Brooks, the wife of a local investment banker, donated $3,000 to build a municipal swimming pool on a portion of what was then known as Arroyo Springs Park.

The park was later called Brookside in her honor, and the municipal pool was added later that same year.

“Benevolent” City leaders set aside Wednesdays for the use of the City’s Black residents.

By 1930, the day was called International Day at the pool and no white people were permitted to swim in the pool on that day.

The pool was drained and cleaned at the end of each International Day, and by the following morning, it was filled with fresh water.

To make matters worse, the Pasadena Improvement Association worked hard to keep Black families from buying homes locally.

Steps are being taken to right the wrongs of the association’s decades-old hate campaign.

“We were the only city that had a critical mass of Black people in northeast LA County,” said local award-winning documentarian Pablo Miralles, whose Emmy-nominated documentary Can We All Get Along: The Desegregation of John Muir High School, exploring the mystery of how the historically diverse high school became segregated.”

“Every other community within 20 miles had segregation for housing and aggressively anti-Black from cross burnings in Glendale and sundown laws in South Pasadena.

“Every major Civil Rights moment in Southern California has impacted this city more so than any other. This is where the rubber met the road. from the desegregation of the pool to the desegregation of the schools. We are often seen as very liberal and progressive but there has been no progress without struggle for Black people in Pasadena and Altadena just like the rest of the United States.”

Work in progress

And that progress has been made. The City is diverse and African Americans play key parts on the City’s legislative body and at City Hall.

The City Council is more diverse than ever, for the moment, with three Black members Hampton, Jones and Felicia Williams.

Michele Bagneris, an African American woman, is the City Attorney, and Eugene Harris, who also is African American, is Chief of Police.

The Reconnecting Communities 710 Advisory Group is a diverse group led by Danny Parker.

More than 4,000 people were displaced and 1,500 homes, many of them in Black neighborhoods, destroyed in a failed effort to expand the 710 freeway.

The City reclaimed the land several years ago, and the working group assists the City Council as it paves the way for the vision of the land.

The City has placed an installation at the Parson’s Project that educated people on the freeway displacement.

“Juneteenth is not just a celebration of freedom, but a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for equality and justice,” said former City Council Candidate Brandon Lamar. “It marks the end of slavery in the United States and calls us to continue the work of addressing systemic racism, uplifting marginalized voices, and ensuring true freedom for all.”

Lamar said Juneteenth’s significance lies in its dual nature: a commemoration of past triumphs and a catalyst for future progress.

“We must ‘work as one’ as we move forward. We must ensure that our community does not repeat the tragedies of our past. Together, we must correct the wrongdoings of the 710 stub and ensure that restorative justice is part of the process. We must ‘work as one’ to reduce the number of homeless minorities, as recent counts show an alarming increase. We must ‘work as one’ to ensure transparency, accountability, and equity for people of color in our Pasadena Police Department.

“We must ‘work as one’ to ensure equality and fairness in the hiring process, not only within our city but also through local hiring initiatives. We must ‘work as one’ to bridge the gap between property owners and tenants.

“We must ‘work as one’ to prevent more families from being displaced from our wonderfully diverse city.

Working as one doesn’t mean that we will always agree, but we will treat everyone fairly with dignity and respect.”

Canary in the coal mine

Although the most recent homeless count revealed that for the first time in six years, chronic homelessness fell below 50% of the total homeless population, persistent racial and ethnic disparities remain.”

Black individuals, who make up only 8% of Pasadena’s general population, comprise 27% of the homeless population.

“A familiar and frustrating reality is the struggle continues – much of it economically rooted,” Parker said. “In the last year of his life, Martin Luther King Jr. pivoted his focus to economic injustice. Unfortunately, that remains a stubbornly persistent issue as Black folks continue to face economic challenges that have a negative ripple effect in so many areas.

“These economic challenges include access to good job and career opportunities and the requisite training needed for those opportunities; access to capital for would-be entrepreneurs who are potential job creators and service providers; and access to resources and assistance for purchasing homes that provide much of the household net worth in America.

“Black folks all too often find ourselves as unwitting “canaries in a coal mine” as societal problems first surface or manifest themselves in the Black community before spreading throughout the rest of society. One local example has been the precipitous drop in the local Black population that has occurred as housing prices have stratospherically risen, and now we also see so many other folks who have been priced out of Pasadena. Ultimately, everyone should care about challenges in the Black community not just from a compassionate sense of shared humanity, but also from a more self-centered standpoint of ‘I could be next.’