LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Concerts at the Forum in Inglewood and the Hollywood Bowl will top the events set for Wednesday to mark Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Kendrick Lamar will be the featured performer for “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends.” The concert at the Forum celebrating Juneteenth will begin at 4 p.m. with a set featuring DJ Hed, followed at 4:45 with a performance by Mustard.
Lamar is set to take the stage at 5:45 p.m. in his first major performance after his highly publicized feud with fellow Grammy-winning rapper Drake concluded.
The concert will be streamed by Prime Video and Twitch.
T-Pain is the headliner and co-curator of a concert at the Hollywood Bowl celebrating Juneteenth and Black music with a full orchestra. Other artists set to join the R&B and hip-hop singer include Ledisi, D Smoke, Jordin Sparks and Tevin Campbell.
Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the concert is set to start at 8 p.m.
The Juneteenth celebration at the Ovation Hollywood shopping center on Hollywood Boulevard will run from 12:30 to 3 p.m. and feature performances by the RAISE Gospel Choir and spoken word from Alexander James.
A Juneteenth celebration including live music, a car show, community resources, food vendors, family-friendly activities and a Juneteenth-themed paint and sip experience will be at Poncitlán Square in Palmdale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The short film “Ellen Garrison: Scenes From An Activist’s Life,” about the 19th century educator, abolitionist, and early Civil Rights activist who spent the final two years of her life in Pasadena and is buried in Altadena, will be shown at the third annual Juneteenth Celebration at Farnsworth Park in Altadena.
The celebration will run from noon to 1:30 p.m. and also include the presentation of scholarships to area high-school students in the spirit of Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark, according to the Altadena Historical Society, which is hosting the event.
A panel discussion on “What is Freedom?” and “Are We Free Yet?” will be at 5 p.m. at 910 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice in connection with “Freedom! A Juneteenth Art Exhibition,” which runs through Sunday.
The exhibit and discussion are organized by Black in Mayberry, which uses art and education for political, social, economic and legal change.
Both the Galaxy and Angel City Football Club will mark Juneteenth at their games Wednesday night.
The LA Galaxy Foundation will begin its partnership with Black Star, which seeks to facilitate soccer’s growth in Black American communities, at the game against the New York City Football Club at Dignity Health Sports Park.
The foundation will provide transportation and complimentary tickets for a group of more than 100 youth ages 7 to 12 from Inglewood. The group will participate in the First Touch Community Clinic where U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Cobi Jones, a Black Star board member, will be in attendance.
Major League Soccer collaborated with Black Players for Change and Adidas to introduce a special edition pre-match “I AM #19” shirt that acknowledges the significance of Juneteenth, celebrates all players as agents of change, and unites around the work yet to be done.
The shirt will be worn by players during pregame warm-ups prior to matches played between Sunday and Wednesday.
Castella, an award-winning singer and songwriter from Long Beach, will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which has been promoted by the NAACP as the Black national anthem since 1917.
The Black Women’s Player Collective will attend a panel discussion during the street fair preceding the Angel City FC-Racing Louisville FC National Women’s Soccer League game at BMO Stadium in Exposition Park. Norelle Simpson will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Simpson was a backup singer for Jennifer Lopez and Shakira at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020 and Rihanna for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023.
Los Angeles City Hall will be lit green and red, the pylons at Los Angeles International Airport red, black and green for Juneteenth while the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier will be lit with displays of red, white and blue patterns along with animations and transitions in green, red and gold.
There will be additional celebrations later in the week.
“Juneteenth: Stories that Unite Us” will be from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Julian Dixon Culver City Library featuring stories and an art activity. The event will be hosted by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration & Resource Fair will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Victoria Community Regional Park in Carson.
A Juneteenth Celebration at Val Verde Community Park in Castaic will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and include music and food.
Juneteenth marks the anniversary of Union Army Gen. Gordon Granger reading General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, which began, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free,” referring to Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on Sept. 22, 1862, declaring all slaves free in Confederate territory.
Juneteenth became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
U.S. post offices will be closed and mail will not be delivered on Wednesday. All federal offices, schools and banks will be closed.
“Juneteenth is an acknowledgment of the truth of our nation’s history. It is about realizing the idea that America was founded on: All people are created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout their lives,” Biden declared in his proclamation declaring Wednesday as the Juneteenth Day of Observance.
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