Juneteenth Film Festival celebrates black history in Monterey! From neighborhood celebrations to a global festival at a local theater. Black History shines at Juneteenth events in Monterey this week.
A five-day film festival kicked off Wednesday at the Stanton Center. Organizers hope it will help people learn about the holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates the abolition of slavery and freedom for African Americans. This happened two years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in June 1865.
The event features films about the history of Juneteenth and other topics that celebrate Black culture. It also honors Black Americans’ lives, legacy, and resilience and calls for ending systemic racism and oppression.
The screenings lead discussions held by panelists and community members.
The MHAA and the Juneteenth Coalition organized the event. They said they want to ensure the holiday is not over-commercialized.
Monterey County kickstarts the Juneteenth Festival
Many celebrate Juneteenth with a traditional meal. Organizers at the festival are serving okra, red rice, and fried chicken. They also have a buffet with collard greens, mac and cheese, yams, and cornbread.
The dishes symbolize the foods that African Americans brought with them as slaves. They later made their own in America.
Another part of the Juneteenth festivities focuses on how slaves sang their way to freedom. The festival will feature performances by artists with a rich heritage of African music and African Americans of American and European descent.
Slave songs carry messages about survival and resilience. They have a powerful impact on the culture’s reverence today.
The festival will offer workshops on a wide variety of topics. Topics range from food preservation to making natural hair products. Organizers hope to see Juneteenth become a federal holiday.
