Sacramento celebrates Juneteenth with art walk. ‘The DNA of this country’

Dr. Halifu Osumare stood in front of a crowd at Celebration Arts near Leland Stanford Park in the New Era Park neighborhood Thursday morning and prepared to pour a small cup of water onto the roots of a juniper tree “to remember and invoke the ancestors” and the ways they turned “wrongs into rights.”

“That is the spirit and legacy of our African ancestors that can never be erased, that can never be eliminated,” she said. “That is in the DNA of this country that will always be forever and ever.”

Then, she led the crowd in a chant of love and respect, the first of many songs of joy at Sacramento’s Second Annual Juneteenth Art Walk.

More than 100 people walked south down 28th Street around 11 a.m., led triumphantly by a brass band. They detoured to CapStage before ending up at The Sofia, home of the B Street Theater, where they were met by vendors and artists. At each stop, they enjoyed song, dance and fellowship.

“We want to celebrate our artistic community but also celebrate Black joy and the joy that this day and event can bring our community,” said Lyndsay Burch, CEO & Artistic Director for The Sofia. “In a time when there’s there’s many things that are seeming to divide us, the arts and this day about freedom and joy can bring people together.”

Erinn Anova, the executive director of Celebration Arts, prepared everyone for the walk by reminding them of the day’s history. She spoke of how a Union General arrived in Texas on this day in 1865 and read an order announcing that enslaved African Americans were free.

“That moment, delayed but undeniable, became known as Juneteenth, and from that day, Black communities all across the country have celebrated and honored not just freedom, but the long run to it,” Anova said.

Burch said about 200 people registered to take part in the march, with more participants joining along the way. The event is funded by the organizations taking part in it and supported by employees donating their time.

Antron Hughes saw an ad for the walk on Facebook and decided to make the short drive from his home near Broadway to the event. He said the vibe was about “freedom, just the responsibility of spreading that love for freedom and community, bringing everybody together.”

Sacramento resident Onisha Cook said the walk was all about “celebrating our past, our future, our present, how far we come as a people, our resiliency, our strength, our contributions that we’ve made this country.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 1:33 PM.