Hundreds gather for Juneteenth celebration in Oakland

Juneteenth celebrations at Oakland Museum

The Oakland Museum of California was packed with families enjoying music, food, and family-friendly activities for Juneteenth.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Museum of California was packed on Thursday with families enjoying music, food, and family-friendly activities for Juneteenth.

There were hundreds of people there to celebrate Freedom Day for the third year in a row, turning the OCMA garden into a cookout and block party.

What they're saying:

"Today is about celebrating black freedom, black joy, black resilience," said L. Autumn King with the museum.

The event featured a variety of black-owned vendors and family-friendly activities, including a half court where the Valkyries were offering free throws and multiple DJs playing hip-hop and R&B tunes.

"All my girlfriends come and we bring our families and we get the opportunity to hang out and celebrate this day," said Mya Paul, an Oakland resident who said this was her second time attending.

The Fare:

For lunch, as part of the cookout theme, guests could enjoy a plate specially curated by Michele McQueen and other local chefs, with mac n' cheese, burgers, and coleslaw.

Along with the food, Black Vines was offering a tasting from seven different black-owned wineries.

"As we acknowledge what today really means, which is us finding out that we’re free, there are still people fighting for those same freedoms," said Fern Stroud of Black Vines.

It was an event bringing together members of the community and elected officials like Mayor Barbara Lee and Congresswoman Lateefah Simon.

Simon said, in these tense political times, it’s especially important to honor the nation’s history.

"The rights that we won are slowly being peeled back, so celebrating Juneteenth today is our responsibility," she said.

Featured