Juneteenth 400 Celebration

On June 19, San Pedro will celebrate Juneteenth 400 at the Port of Los Angeles, a one-of-a-kind event to celebrate the end of slavery in the last province of the United States. This celebration originated in Galveston, Texas  on June 19, 1865. This date is  commemorated as the anniversary date of the June 19, 1865 announcement by Union Army general Gordon Granger, when he proclaimed the end of slavery in Texas, the last remaining place where enslaved African Americans learned that their freedom had been purchased by the American Civil War. 

Event organizer Joe Gatlin, of the San Pedro/Wilmington chapter of the NAACP described this year’s celebration as a first of its kind event that will serve as a launching pad to sign up youth from traditionally disadvantaged communities to join the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s TopSail STEM Youth Program and acquire maritime and leadership-oriented skills.

This year’s celebration will feature a live-streamed, multi-media production event that will link Juneteenth celebrations from across the country at the Los Angeles Waterfront. There will also be a celebration at the Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center. 

The COVID-19-compliant production will include a sea vehicle event  and fireworks display intended to deliver a message of unity as Americans recognize its diverse history.

Juneteenth programming includes

The celebration will include live coverage of a LA Waterfront vehicle and vessel staging then parade intermixed and ending with live-streaming of interviews, produced content, guest speakers and music. Actor and civil rights activist Hill Harper will be among the guest speakers at the event.

The boat parade starts at 5th and Harbor at 12:30 for the 1p.m. fire boat display.

There will be a boat parade with the fire boat displays at 4p.m. and a fireworks display at 7 p.m. Parking for the boat parades at 1p.m., 4p.m. and 7p.m is at the Port of Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club on 5th and Palos Verdes Streets.

Guest Speakers and Music at Berth 46, ending at approximately 1:00 p.m.

Venue: Cabrillo Beach Youth Waterfront Sports Center, 3000 Shoshonean Rd, San Pedro, CA 90731