Saturday, 1,500 people marched along MLK Drive in honor of Juneteenth, celebrating not only the freedom of emancipated slaves but also Black leaders in Portland.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The energy was high this year at the 52nd annual Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade, also known as Juneteenth Oregon.
Saturday’s celebration started near the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Northeast Portland and ended at Lillis-Albina Park.
The event isn’t just a celebration — it’s a mentorship program and a pageant for girls and young women, ages 6-19.
Miss Juneteenth 2023 and 2024 Princess Fletcher said the Black community should be uplifted more than just one month a year.
“We have February, and that’s not really enough,” said Fletcher. “There is Juneteenth, where we celebrate our freedom, plus how beautiful and bright our culture is. I feel like that brings so much beauty to the community, especially here in Portland, where it’s so diverse.”
This diversity didn’t come easy. Organizer for the parade Heather Coleman-Cox said Oregon once had exclusionary laws that prohibited black people from moving into the state. She said celebrations like this show how far we’ve come.
“Those laws stayed on the books until 1926,” Coleman-Cox explained. “It is very important in this state to show unity and to show that Black citizens are welcome.”
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Between the live bands, cheerleaders, and even clowns, you could feel just how much fun people were having.
Nikki Brown Clown spends her time pouring into Black youth here in Portland as a literacy advocate and entertainer. She said this is one of her favorite days of the year.
“It feels phenomenal!” Brown Clown exclaimed. “It’s like a homecoming for us, and it just feels great to be completely celebrated and embraced.”
