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Councilmember-Requested Item Report <br />DATE <br />April 16, 2024 <br /> <br />TOPIC <br />Juneteenth, City Sponsored Event <br /> <br />COUNCILMEMBER-REQUESTED ITEM TITLE <br />Discuss and consider providing direction to the City Manager regarding the Santa Ana, <br />Juneteenth Festival being led by the OCHC <br /> <br />DISCUSSION <br />Juneteenth is the oldest known annual observance commemorating the abolishment of <br />slavery in the United States. Juneteenth Independence Celebrations took place on June <br />19,1865 when Major General Gordon Granger led union Soldier’s into Galveston Texas. <br />It was there that Union Soldiers delivered news that the Civil War had ended and <br />enslaved African Americans within any state were free. <br />In 2021, the Orange County Heritage Council brought a Juneteenth Festival to Santa <br />Ana. The event was hosted at Centennial Park and brought together educators, <br />businesses, churches, performers and Santa Ana families. The event was sponsored by <br />Santa Ana Elected’s: Jessie Lopez, Johnathan Hernandez, & Mayor Vicente Sarmiento. <br />The event was a success and brought multiple generations of Santa Ana families <br />together and highlighted the many contributions to our City from the African American <br />Community. Notable contributions such as: Helen M. Shipp along with her family, <br />founding and introducing a Black History Parade to the City of Santa Ana in the 1980’s, <br />Dorothey Mulkey’s historic Victory for Fair housing, where she challenged Prop 14, Ed <br />Caruthers Olympic Championships and his fight for social justice. <br />The City of Santa Ana officially hosted their first Juneteenth Festival in partnership with <br />the Santa Ana based, Orange County Heritage Council (OCHC) in 2022. The event was <br />hosted at Centennial park and brought together thousands of residents and included <br />performers such as: The Delfonics, Slum Village, Howard Johnson and many more. <br />Keynote speakers of the event were residents from our community such as: Harlen <br />Lambert (Santa Ana’s First Black Police Officer/First in County of Orange), Pastor <br />Daniel Lynem (OC Black Panther Party Leader), Darlene Futrel (National Action <br />Network OC, Reverend Al Sharpton Organization).