Politicians, Performers Jazz Up City's 22nd Juneteenth Festival

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people came out to the 22nd Annual Berkeley Juneteenth Festival Saturday in the five-block South Berkeley Adeline corridor.

Juneteenth commemorates the day June 19, 1865, when slaves in Texas were freed, marking the end of slavery in the United States more than two years after the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Berkeley's is the longest running Juneteenth festival on the West Coast, first organized in 1987 by a group of UC Berkeley alumni, community activists and ex-Black Panthers.

The theme of this year's celebration, influenced by the Obama presidency, was "Building Villages of Hope."

"(The festival) has an extra emphasis this year because of the historic presidency of Barack Obama," said State Assemblymember Sandre Swanson, who gave a speech at the event.

The 2009 festival marks a comeback as the festival was canceled in 2008 amid safety concerns from the city, said Juneteenth committee co-chair Sam Dyke.

At the 2007 celebration, tensions between groups of people escalated into a fight in the middle of a crowd, which required police intervention, according to Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

The festival was threatened this year when the city again voiced safety concerns, said Councilmember Kriss Worthington.

In response to the concerns, the Juneteenth Committee provided extra staff to maintain safety, said committee co-president Gerald Baptiste Jr. The police department also added additional officers, including a special crowd-control team, Kusmiss said.

"I feel good that we're back," said Baptiste. "It's a labor of love."

Saturday's celebration included speeches by local and state politicians and musical performances by bluesman Fillmore Slim and R&B singer James DeBarge. Food and clothing vendors set up shop for the day in booths that lined the street.

"Juneteenth has good music and food and a lot of young people," said festival attendee and Berkeley resident Asa Dodsworth. "All the other (Berkeley) events don't have as many young people."

This year, the Juneteenth committee opened up its planning process for the first time to include input from local faith-based community organizations and youth-oriented groups, Baptiste said.

"The design expanded," said Baptiste. "We're more green-oriented and more youth-oriented this year."

The committee also increased its focus on education, including sponsoring the nonprofit organization Dance-You-Cation, which aims to integrate math and writing curriculum with dance.

"It's important for education to be involved," said festival organizer Lothario Lotho. "We want to be out in the community raising consciousness."

Tags: JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL, SOUTH AND WEST BERKELEY