California Juneteenth ~ Our Journey Towards Freedom

There is a wonderful legacy of California Juneteenth and three wonderful places to hear the authentic story of California Juneteenth is in Historic Folsom, Historic "Negro" Heaven, and Allensworth State Park.

California Juneteenth celebrations may finally began to share the legacy of people of African ancestry in the Great State of California. Texas found out that slavery ended in 1865, when did folk enslaved in California find out they were free, some people still may not know.

State Senator Ed Vincent, Los Angeles authored Juneteeth Legislation to mandate recognition of the 3rd Saturday in June an official statewide celebration of California Juneteenth.

6th Annual, Folsom Juneteenth Celebration
Saturday, June 17, 2006,
Noon ~ 7:00 p.m.
Leidesdorff Plaza
Leidesdorff St. and Wool St.
Folsom, CA
featuring the Samuel Allen Foundation Jazz Band

Juneteenth Capay Valley
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
6:00 p.m. ~ 9:00 p.m.
Highway 16 ~ Yolo Road 44
past Cache Creek Casino, CA

Juneteenth Allensworth
Saturday, June 24, 2006
11:00 a.m. ~ 4:00 p.m.
Allensworth State Park

We are not Texas and by no means did Texas have all the enslaved human suffering from centuries of long and hard fought battles in the journey towards freedom.

Slavery in California was a fact of life and a comprehensive official study has yet to be afforded any consideration of utility by our California Legislature. Historical amnesia is on full view in my birth home of Sacramento, California.

Our California State Legislature enacted laws to restrict the right to vote by Black citizens, restrict the right to fund education for black students, restrict the right to testify in court for black people and restrict land ownership for black people, yes all specific to black people.

In fact, first California Governor Peter Burnett in his first official speech, "proposed to export all Black people out of the State of California." The official measure failed by the smallest of margins.

Juneteenth represents exactly what U.S. General Granger said to those enslaved in the fields in Texas, order #3 says, "you are no longer slaves, you are employees... now get back to work."

95% of Black folk in America were on the farm working for free for hundreds of years and today Black Farmers are all but forgotten, especially by Black people.

Slavery in California was a real event and today California Black Farmers represent 1/4th of 1 pecent of all Farmers in California. We must remove the terrible image of a carry-over from legal chattel slavery throughout the Westen Hemisphere.

May the spirit of William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., "African Founding Father of California" guide you to discover the legacy of "California Juneteenth, Our Journey Towards Freedom."

Michael Harris, California Ag Policy Director
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association