Celebrating Juneteenth in Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – On the weekend ahead of June 19 crowds gathered at the Delaney Park Strip, many whom just finished protesting.

Saturday in downtown Anchorage protestors flooded the streets as part of a national “No Kings” protest. Organizers said while the rally and Juneteenth celebration were separate events, they coordinated so protestors finished their march at the Juneteenth celebration.

Erin Jackson-Hill, Executive Director of Stand Up Alaska and Alaska Take A Stand, said the influx of protest participants into the Juneteenth event introduced a different crowd into the celebration of emancipation.

“Today the people came out, there was probably at least 5,000 people at the No Kings march, and then we turned the corner around 9th Ave. onto the park strip, and it changed tone,” Jackson-Hill said.

“It was basically the idea that these are two diverse groups of people, right? Usually, it’s progressive white people that come to the rally. I’ll be very perfectly honest. And then you have Juneteenth, which is the celebration of Black culture, and we have been divided far too long in this country, so we wanted to bring the two groups together on a joyful, beautiful Alaskan day and say, ‘Let’s learn about each other.”

The celebration of Black culture on Juneteenth began in Texas, June 1865. Though the Emancipation Proclamation ordered enslaved people be freed, freedom did not immediately make its way through all rebelling states.

Following the end of the Civil War in April 1865, freedom for enslaved people in Texas was finally enforced by Union soldiers June 19, 1865.

Saturday’s celebration included local food vendors, resources from nonprofits, speakers from organizations like Stand Up Alaska, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates and Popular Democracy.

“It is a celebration of our history. It is a celebration of the contributions that black people have made to American Society, of which there are many,” Jackson-Hill said.

“I think it’s beautiful. I love it. I love seeing a diverse group of people out here… because everybody should celebrate Black history. Everybody should celebrate Black culture because American culture is imminently richer because of Black people and let’s recognize it and celebrate it.”

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