Vendors at the 11th annual Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Music Festival Saturday sold a range of goods, from sea moss to children’s books.
But mixed in with the small sellers were large corporations wanting to have a presence at the celebration.
Near one of the entrances was a T-Mobile pink tent. Farther in the park, State Farm was giving away personalized bobbleheads.
Credit: Mirtha Donastorg
Credit: Mirtha Donastorg
The title sponsor for the festival was Cisco, which had a large tent near one of the main stages, giving out water, sunglasses and frisbees, and hosting games like cornhole and Jenga.
“We just want to be a part of the community and support and have things to kind of enhance people’s visit to the parade and festival,” said Taeza Youngblood, a recruitment marketing specialist at Cisco volunteering at the festival.
Juneteenth is a celebration of June 19, 1865, the day the last enslaved African Americans learned of their freedom – more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.
While Juneteenth has been celebrated in Texas and among Black communities for generations, public awareness of Juneteenth grew in 2020 amid nationwide protests after the police killings of several Black Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Atlanta and other Georgia cities began recognizing the holiday in 2020, while the state and several other local governments got on board after it became a federal holiday in 2021. Gov. Brian Kemp made it a paid holiday for state employees last year after it was passed almost unanimously by the state Legislature. Adoption among private-sector employers has been mixed.
Separate from the parade and festival at Centennial Olympic Park, major companies are marking the day in a variety of ways.
Google – which has a large office in Midtown – hosted a company-wide Juneteenth Day of Learning on June 15, according to Emily Hawkins, Google DEI spokesperson. In Google’s Atlanta office, the Black Googler Network hosted a Juneteenth celebration with games, live entertainment, a photo booth, libations and soul food.
Walmart sponsored a Juneteenth Day of Service on Saturday to benefit Project H.E.L.P. ATL at the Gateway Center, which serves the homeless community.
Comcast, whose Black Employee Network resource group did have a tent at the parade, also hosted a discussion for employees featuring Juneteenth activist and educator Opal Lee, as well as a dinner for influencers and media about the company’s commitment to Black representation in media.
But since the observance became a federal holiday two years ago, some people are wondering what the nascent celebrations will evolve into.
“My own curiosity really is kind of watching, and also trying to mold, the development of Juneteenth from a African American tradition to an American tradition,” said Tennell Lockett, co-founder and managing partner of he business law firm, Townsend Lockett.
At his firm, employees get the day off to celebrate as they see fit, or as Lockett put it, “do the things that freedom fully allows you to do.”
His co-founder of the firm, Travis Townsend, noted that a lot of the celebrations now seem to be more focused on promoting and supporting Black businesses.
“I think anything that promotes Black business is a good thing,” Townsend said, but noted that it could potentially obscure the point of the holiday. “Don’t let it become so commercial that it doesn’t point out the fact that, you know, this is about freedom that was long overdue.”
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