Kansas City celebrates Juneteenth all month long, starting with a parade this weekend

The official Juneteenth holiday isn’t until June 19, but Kansas City organizers are making it a monthlong celebration, kicking off with the sixth annual Cultural Parade on Saturday.

The parade will bring floats, custom cars, drill teams, marching bands and community organizations to start off the month of Black culture and heritage.

“We don’t have a lot of these types of events that are about us and open to the community,” says Makeda Peterson, the director of Juneteenth KC, which organizes this and other events. “Being able to offer that to people who are going through different struggles to give them some support that they need is a way we can give back and be a value to the community.”

Though Juneteenth has only been a national holiday since 2021, Black communities have celebrated it since 1865. Marking the final release of enslaved peoples in Galveston, Texas, the day has been steeped in the memory of how far the Black populace has come.

Organizers like Peterson hope to see all community members come out and celebrate something that is not only Black history but American history.

“There is a great amount of history and stories to be told, and we hope that this parade and this festival will help to highlight these opportunities,” she says.

The parade will start at noon at 18th Street and Benton Boulevard and head west through the Jazz District. Peterson says this will be one of the largest yet, with over 80 entries participating in the procession, including guest performers from New Orleans — the Golden Feather Hunter Indians, who blend African and Native American song and dance, as well as the Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band to supply the music.

“The parade has grown significantly and we have definitely been nurturing it,” says Peterson, a 37-year-old KC native and Rockhurst University graduate. “We have seen great interest in this year and definitely taking it up a notch with what we are bringing in terms of entertainment and ways to draw out the significance.”

This year the parade will highlight KC’s deep roots within the culture of drill and dance teams and custom cars. There will be awards for the best float, car, drill team and community organization.

Sponsors include big names like Evergy, Verizon and John Deere, as well as local entities like Kansas City GIFT (Generating Income for Tomorrow). Brandon Calloway, co-founder of GIFT, has attended the parade for years and is glad to act as a contest judge.

“I am excited that it has grown, and the parade has always been a really great event and excited to see it getting more attention,” says Calloway.

The KC native has served on the Juneteenth committee for four years and wants to make sure that the parade gains momentum and community participation like other cultural parades in the metro.

“If the city could put that same kind of energy behind it as, say, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade we could increase the reach and increase the message,” he says. The St. Patrick’s Day event is mostly paid for by a number of private sponsors.

Peterson, who has organized Juneteenth KC since 2012, sees the celebration, in a way, as a family legacy. Her father was historian Horace Peterson III, founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America, and was responsible for the emergence of Kansas City’s Juneteenth in the ’80s.

With this year’s theme being “Homecoming,” Peterson hopes that Black residents will use this month to reconnect with their roots. In addition to the parade, a Black film festival and hip-hop panel, Juneteenth KC will partner with the Black Archives to offer genealogical services for those interested in uncovering their roots but lack the resources.

“Our community’s history has been lost the most, especially when it comes to family history because of slavery and the lack of documentation,” says Peterson. “Understand how to use the tools that are accessible to us today to start that journey and start tracking your history so you can start to unlock the mysteries of who you are.”

Other Juneteenth events

In addition to Saturday’s parade, the month of events builds to the 12th annual Juneteenth Heritage Festival, which will include over 200 local vendors, live music, a youth zone and nonprofit organizations offering resources to the community. All events are free of charge. For more information, visit juneteenthkc.com.

Hip-hop panel: A Night With Shawn Edwards & Don Juan, 6 to 9 p.m. June 2, 2000 Vine St.

Strengthen the Vine First Fridays, 4 to 9 p.m. June 2, 18th and Vine St.

Uncle Nearest VIP Cocktail Tasting, 6 to 9 p.m. June 2, 18th and Vine St.

Play Ball Weekend with the Kansas City Royals, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 10, Kansas City MLB Youth Academy, 1622 E. 17th Terrace.

Film Festival: “The Blackening,” 7 to 10 p.m. June 13, Screenland Armour, 408 Armour Road, North Kansas City.

Rise & Shine Workout, 9 to 11 a.m. June 17, 1616 E. 18th St.

JuneteenthKC 12th Annual Heritage Festival, noon to 10 p.m., June 17, 18th and Vine.

Black Space Black Art, noon to 4 p.m. June 17, location TBD.

One Night Only Music Festival presented by Kansas City Defender, 6 to 11:30 p.m. June 17, The Truman, 601 E. Truman Road. $30 tickets available online. More information at kansascitydefender.com.

Film Festival: “Do The Right Thing,” 6:30 to 9 p.m. June 19, Screenland Armour, 408 Armour Road, North Kansas City.

Juneteenth Genealogy Workshop, 6 to 8 p.m. June 22, Black Archives of Mid-America, 1722 E. 17th Terrace.