Seattle celebrates Juneteenth with music, history and community

Hundreds of people gathered at Jimi Hendrix Park in Seattle's Central District on Friday, reveling in the sun, music and good vibes in honor of Juneteenth.

The celebration commemorates the day enslaved people were freed in Texas - June 19, 1865 - more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation formally outlawed slavery.

Held in the park behind the Northwest African American Museum, a short walk from the newly opened Judkins Park Light Rail station, the event drew locals as well as those in town celebrating a USA World Cup win earlier in the afternoon.

It's a beautiful thing to be right off Judkins Park station and have folks choosing to be here amongst those who've known and loved this event over the years," said Trae Holiday, a host of the event.

Holiday, an ambassador for King County Equity Now and Africatown Community Land Trust, the two groups that organized the event, said the Juneteenth celebration marks an important day in national history, while also honoring the deep roots of Seattle's Black community in the Central District.

"It's such a community-driven effort that we experience a lot of folks who have ties to the Central District coming back to celebrate Juneteenth, even if they no longer live in the community," Holiday said. "They're still a part of that spirit of community that the Central District created."

Sandra Mitchell, a Seattle resident, said she's been coming to the event for several years and loves watching the community come together.

"This is as big as it's been," she said.

Mitchell said the positive energy was infectious.

"The joy of seeing Black people together," she said. "It's a celebration of all my people, our community."

The event highlighted Black business owners selling handmade jewelry, clothing and artwork. People lined up for food and packed the area in front of the main stage, dancing along to the music of local artists and awaiting the performance of soul singer Marsha Ambrosius, of the musical duo Floetry.

Organizers said they hoped that as people embraced the joy of the day, they'd take away something else, too.

"We need to infuse the celebration with actual ways that people can contribute to the efforts that are happening," Holiday said. "It's not just celebration - we're also saying, here are the organizations you need to hear from, here are the elected officials you need to hear from, here are the people who are making waves in their community in the efforts of liberation."

Anita Koyier-Mwamba, the manager of Seattle Public Schools' Black Studies program, said the event has been an opportunity to have conversations with new people about Black history and culture.

The school district's program was created in 2021, in response to calls from Black students and families. It includes classes in several of the district's middle and high schools that are open to any student, Koyier-Mwamba said.

"Black people are Americans," she said. "The American story is ever-changing. We get to choose whether it's going to be a great story or a depressing one."

While organizers brought back the Juneteenth event at a large scale in 2020, Holiday said it commemorates the celebrations the Central District has long had.

"This is really a reclamation where we talk about our spaces. We have to make it evidently clear that we still care about the Central District as legacy residents of the CD," she said. "This is a reflection of those who came before us.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.