The San Diego College of Continuing Education will observe Juneteenth with a Celebration of Freedom including music, a drum call, storytelling, poetry, food and more at the Educational Cultural Complex on Tuesday, June 20, from noon to 1:30 p.m. 

Organized in concert with the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom features music by Buki Domingos and DSOUL, poetry by Khalil Bleux, a drum call by Teye Sa Thiosanne African Drum & Dance Company, storytelling by Alyce Smith Cooper, a special performance by Common Ground Theatre Executive Artistic Director Yolanda Marie Franklin. Food will be provided by Bowlegged BBQ.

“Juneteenth is not just another federal holiday; it is a true celebration of freedom remembering the date of June 19, 1865 – more than two months after the end of the Civil War – when the Union Army arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced an executive order proclaiming the liberation of an estimated 250,000 enslaved African Americans,” said San Diego College of Continuing Education President Tina M. King. “We are honored to keep this legacy alive, and we invite the community to celebrate with us.”

San Diego College of Continuing Education will join its sister campuses in the San Diego Community College District in raising, for the first time, a Juneteenth flag on the morning of June 15 and throughout the remainder of the month.

Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom is being held on June 20 because college campuses are closed on the June 19 holiday. Funding was made possible through the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.

San Diego College of Continuing Education is among the most diverse college campuses in the region with more than one-third of students identifying as Hispanic, 28% identifying as White, 15% identifying as Asian, and 7% identifying as Black.

The Educational Cultural Complex is at 4343 Ocean View Blvd., in the Southeast San Diego neighborhood of Mountain View. The event is free and open to the public.