2017 Juneteenth Oregon Celebration Commemorates the 152nd Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
Date: June 17, 2017
Parade start time: 10:45am
“Bringing our Community Back 2 Life”
Portland, Oregon ~ The Juneteenth Oregon Committee invites you to attend our Annual Juneteenth Oregon Celebration and our Annual “Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade” on Saturday, June 17, 2017.
The parade will start off at Safeway parking lot located 5920 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97211 and go South on MLK and go along MLK until Russell where it will go West ending at the Juneteenth Oregon Celebration at the Legacy Emanuel Field located NE
Graham & Vancouver. The parade will start at 10:45 AM and the Festival will start immediately following the parade at around Noon ending at 6:00 PM.
Juneteenth Celebration activities include:
- The Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade Alan Bell the owner of Hana’s Snowballs located on Beech and MLK as the Grand Marshall, The Ebony Strutters, Miss Black Oregon Talented Teen, Community Churches, Groups, Clubs and Community Organizations.
- Live Bands & Local Artists featuring Randy Starr, 5 Grand and other local artists.
- Food Vendors
- Local Retail Vendors
- Children’s area
This is a Community Event and is Free to EVERYONE and we mean EVERYONE!
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration among African Americans across the country commemorating the announcement of the end of slavery in the United States. It has been an African American tradition since the late 19th Century.
The relationship between Juneteenth Oregon and the City dates back to 1945, when Clara Peoples from Muskogee, OK while working in the shipyards during a lunch break on Juneteenth asked fellow co-workers if they knew about Juneteenth and the answer was no. She
then turned to her supervisor and asked if they could be allowed to celebrate Juneteenth during their 15-minute break and it was approved. Since then, Juneteenth has been celebrated in Portland, Oregon along with a parade that was recently named The Clara Peoples Freedom
Trail Parade.
Why is Juneteenth so important?
It gives African-Americans (and indeed everyone living in America) a sense of togetherness. You don’t have to be African-American to join in celebrating the anniversary of the end of slavery. Everyone is invited to celebrate this important day in black history. This year’s theme is “bringing our community back 2 life” for 2017. We can start by coming together to learn more about our culture and what we can do as a community to educate our youth, empower our youth, love and respect one another. Juneteenth is a celebration of African American’s freedom, but it opens the door for so many other community opportunities.
This year Juneteenth Oregon will be solely operating on donations for this community event. This includes vendors. We are making this actually a free event for everyone in the community to attend, network, learn, and celebrate African American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-respect for all cultures. As it takes on a more national, symbolic and global perspective, the events of 1865 in Texas are not forgotten.
If anyone would like to make a donation towards Juneteenth Oregon Celebration 2017 , visit GoFundMe page here.
Juneteenth Oregon Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/juneteenthoregon15/
Juneteenth Oregon website
www.juneteenthor.com