Rain or shine, the tradition retains shining. That was the vitality surrounding the thirteenth Annual Juneteenth Atlanta Parade and Music Competition, which took over Piedmont Park and the streets of the Outdated Fourth Ward on Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15. Hosted simply days earlier than the nationwide Juneteenth vacation, this 12 months’s celebration was each a mirrored image of resilience and a real showcase of Black excellence.
Streetz 94.5 and 87.7 The Vibe, in partnership with rolling out Journal, have been stay on web site, bringing the festivities to listeners all throughout the town. Whereas the climate prompted some minor delays, it didn’t cancel the vibes. Crowds nonetheless confirmed up, marched, danced, and vibed all weekend lengthy.
Saturday kicked off with the Juneteenth Parade, a colourful and high-energy march that began close to the historic King Middle and made its method down Boulevard Drive NE to Piedmont Park. The procession featured dancers, drummers, basic automobiles, stilt walkers, cyclists, and even horseback riders. Total households lined the sidewalks, cheering and waving flags whereas soaking within the tradition and legacy of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth celebrates the date, June 19, 1865, when information of emancipation lastly reached enslaved Black individuals in Galveston, Texas. Though the Emancipation Proclamation took impact in 1863, freedom didn’t arrive for everybody till a lot later. That delayed liberation is precisely why Juneteenth carries a lot weight within the Black group. It’s a celebration of freedom, but in addition a name to recollect how lengthy it took to return.
This 12 months marked the thirteenth anniversary of the Juneteenth Atlanta competition. However it virtually didn’t occur. In keeping with co-founders Bob Johnson and Brad Lewis, funds constraints as a consequence of nationwide cutbacks in DEI (Range, Fairness, and Inclusion) funding practically pressured them to cancel. “A variety of our regular sources have been affected,” they stated. “However the group help made it clear we needed to hold going.”
That willpower paid off. As soon as the parade wrapped, the competition footprint at Piedmont Park lit up with rows of meals distributors, artist cubicles, stay performances, nonprofit organizations, wellness activations, and group info tents. Sponsors included Humana, Centerwell, Grady Hospital, Atlanta Citizen Overview Board, and lots of others who made it some extent to indicate up and present love.
All through the two-day celebration, Streetz 94.5 saved the soundtrack flowing. Personalities Jigi Deniro, John Marshal, and DJ Kno It All rotated on the mic, interviewing artists, shouting out distributors, and gifting away prizes to festival-goers. 87.7 The Vibe’s radio legend Jerry Smokin B additionally pulled as much as do a particular set stay from the park, bringing nostalgic soul to a youthful crowd that confirmed loads of appreciation.
Artists from Atlanta and past hit the stage with performances that ranged from R&B and hip hop to spoken phrase and Afrobeat. Native dance troupes turned the grass right into a full efficiency zone, whereas children joined pop-up drum circles and artwork corners across the park. Meals vans served every part from jerk hen and lemonade to vegan tacos and funnel truffles. It was a Black-owned paradise with flavors from everywhere in the diaspora.
One of many main highlights was the Neighborhood Stage, the place rising native expertise carried out in entrance of cheering crowds. Whether or not it was a younger poet delivering a chunk on identification or a gospel group lifting spirits via music, the moments have been highly effective and intentional.
Piedmont Park has lengthy served as a gathering place for Atlanta’s largest cultural moments, and Juneteenth ATL continues to safe its spot in that historical past. What began over a decade in the past as a small, grassroots initiative is now a significant occasion that displays the guts of the town. Even with the storm clouds above, the vitality remained excessive and the message was clear. Freedom is value celebrating, regardless of the forecast.
If there may be one takeaway from this 12 months’s occasion, it’s that group issues. When individuals present up, help, and pour into Black-owned occasions, it sends a message louder than any speaker system. Juneteenth Atlanta 2025 reminded everybody that progress just isn’t solely about trying again but in addition about pushing ahead with delight.
The weekend could also be over, however the message, the music, and the recollections stay on. Whether or not you marched within the parade, danced within the park, or tuned in stay with Streetz 94.5, you have been a part of one thing greater than only a competition. You have been a part of historical past.
