How to celebrate Juneteenth in Los Angeles (2024)

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, June 19. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Juneteenth in L.A.
• California braces for heavy wildfire activity this fall
• Ten places in California to see magnificent wildlife in their natural settings
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

The history of Juneteenth and how to celebrate in L.A.

On this day in 1865, the federal government arrived in Galveston, Texas, to declare that all enslaved people must be freed. The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863 but couldn’t be implemented until the Civil War ended and Confederate states surrendered.

As a result, enslaved people in Texas were the last ones in the Confederacy to find out they were freed. The date June 19, now known as Juneteenth, has become a symbolic holiday to celebrate Black history, culture and unity.

For over 150 years, states across the country have celebrated Juneteenth with parades, cookouts, music festivals and other fun activities I’ll get into a little later. But it took just as long for the federal government to recognize the day.

On June 16, 2021, Congress made Juneteenth (June 19) a federal holiday. More than half of the U.S. made the date a public holiday, giving state workers the day off and closing state government offices.

Children pose for a portrait showing off their T-shirts during a Juneteenth festival at Leimert Park in Los Angeles on June 18, 2022.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / For The Times)

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of having a day off, but it’s important to remember why the holiday exists.

The 1865 announcement of freedom did not put an end to systemic racism and its discriminatory effects in housing, employment and education. It also did not stop violence against Black people.

Yet there’s still reason to celebrate, for the Black people who endured centuries of slavery and their descendants who continued to fight for the rights of Black Americans.

Here’s how you can mark the holiday here in Los Angeles:

Eat some red foods

Watermelon. Red velvet cake. BBQ ribs. That’s just a few of the red-hued foods to be found around L.A. that symbolize Juneteenth.

There are different ideas around the significance of eating red foods on Juneteenth, my colleague Danielle Dorsey writes. Some believe that early celebrants simply worked with easily accessible and in-season ingredients that happened to be red. Others say it honors the bloodshed and suffering of enslaved ancestors.

Here are 14 Black-owned restaurants and markets across L.A. to get red foods and drinks for Juneteenth.

Go to a concert or stream one online

Kendrick Lamar will remind us why he’s the champion in this year’s most brutal rap feud against Drake with a live Juneteenth performance in Inglewood.

He will headline “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” at the Forum today at 4 p.m. The lineup has yet to be announced. Resale tickets are still available starting at $240, but you can also stream the concert on Amazon Prime.

Over in Hollywood, Rapper T-Pain will co-curate a one-night-only event celebrating Juneteenth and Black music at the Hollywood Bowl tonight at 8. Tickets are still available starting at $25 on the Hollywood Bowl’s website.

Learn more about the holiday

Take a trip to Manhattan Beach later this morning for a Juneteenth ceremony filled with reverence, education, entertainment and community engagement at Bruce’s Beach Park. The ceremony will include speakers from the community, special guests and a gospel choir.

Farther south, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach will present its annual Juneteenth Celebration from 1-2 p.m. Discover the traditions of the holiday through music, storytelling and more.

Today’s top stories

Legislation in California

• Secret negotiations are heating up in Sacramento as budget and ballot deadlines loom.
• California could end forced prison labor. Will lawmakers send this measure to the ballot?
• California lawmakers are trying to regulate AI before it’s too late. Here’s how

Politics and elections

• How immigration is shaping these California races — and could tip control of the House
• Many California voters get their information from social media, even if they don’t trust it, a new poll has shown.
• The Biden-Trump debate nears amid hopes to avoid another Dumpster fire

Housing costs

• Homes prices are rising nearly everywhere. Not in Hollywood.
• Use our housing tracker to see how housing costs, mortgage rates and monthly costs are changing across SoCal.

L.A. city council

• L.A. wants to make firing bad cops easier. Should the LAPD’s watchdog have a role?
• Expand the L.A. City Council? A citizens commission will explore that and other ideas.
• L.A. City Council panel backs billion-dollar plan to redo Convention Center for 2028 Olympics

Wildfires

• ‘Critical fire conditions’ continue to hamper firefighting as California wildfires grow.
• California braces for heavy wildfire activity this fall: ‘They’re only going to get worse.’

Crime

• Police identify 19-year-old suspect in fatal stabbing on USC’s Greek Row.
• A man is fatally stabbed at USC’s Greek Row after car break-in, police say.
• Secret Service agent robbed at gunpoint on night of glitzy L.A. fundraiser for Biden.
• A man has been arrested in connection with firebombing of UC Berkeley police car during campus protests.

More big stories

• LAUSD is violating the law on arts education spending, former Supt. Beutner and unions allege.
• Fisker Inc. files for bankruptcy protection amid heavy losses and struggling EV market.
• Justin Timberlake has been charged with driving while intoxicated in New York’s Hamptons.
• Mpox is on the rise in L.A. County. Here’s how to avoid it.
• LAUSD approves strict student cellphone ban. How to do it comes next.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

• Editorial: Juneteenth is about more than the end of slavery.
• Sammy Roth: In Southern California, the water drama never dies.
• Robin Abcarian: Los Angeles public schools will ban cellphones. What’s not to like?

Today’s great reads

Although Ben Larson says his efficient 500-square-foot ADU rental is “perfect for one person,” there‘s still room for visiting family members, a surplus of sports gear and most important, his dog Theo.

(Jason LeCras / For The Times)

First, they built an ADU ideal for surfers. Now they’re ready to travel like nomads. Los Angeles architect Cameron McNall converted the garage behind his Los Angeles home into a bright and airy 500-square-foot ADU. He and his wife now rent out both properties and are embarking on a world tour.

Other great reads

• Defying age and expectations, 94-year-old June Squibb is Hollywood’s latest action star.
• Why did Sony buy Alamo Drafthouse — and is it actually a good thing?

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Going out

• 🐅Ten places in California to see magnificent wildlife in their natural settings.
• 🍉 Red-hued foods are a powerful Juneteenth symbol. 14 places to find them in L.A.
• 💰Hotel and Airbnb price tags may soon spike. For travelers, that’s a good thing.

Staying in

• 📖 Akwaeke Emezi’s novel ‘Little Rot’ is a thrilling but difficult descent into darkness.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for République date butter roasted sweet potatoes.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... a powerful photo

Show us your favorite place in California! We’re running low on submissions. Send us photos that scream California and we may feature them in an edition of Essential California.

Today’s powerful photo is from Times photographer Jason Armond, covering the first major wildfire of 2024 in Los Angeles County.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor

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