Juneteenth Santa Barbara welcomes the community to the seventh year of celebrating Juneteenth in South Santa Barbara County.
The free block party will be 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, June 15, in historically Black Santa Barbara, also known as the Funk Zone, on the 100 block of Gray Avenue in Santa Barbara.
As this is the first celebration without Juneteenth Santa Barbara’s founding Elder Sojourner “Joy” Kincaid Rolle, its theme — Joy for the People — honors Kincaid Rolle’s legacy.
Juneteenth SB partners with logistics and event consultant Melanin Culture Co. to organize the annual event.
The celebration includes live performances, the Black Artisan Market; The Indy Parenting kids zone with Princess Tiana from Princess & the Frog and the Santa Barbara Public Library on the Go Van; and a basketball shooting competition.
On stage will be local Black talent Vivian Storm as the emcee, as well as Talitha Blackwell, Pastor David Moore, Aria Elan, Kat Lincoln, Brayell, The AD Project, P Money Experience, and The Knew Vibe, with DJ Tempest.
The Black Artisan Market will feature Baked by the Hoods, Big Mama’s Preserves, Cookie Plug, Country Gal Clothing, Dawn Carlson Designs, Dez Porter, Elf Kraft, Gypsy Moon House, Healing Justice SB, My Mother is A Superhero, Moore on Health, Riah Safari, ShevaShea, Steven Harper, To Live A Colorful Life, and Warrior Mother Essential Oils & Blends.
Community nonprofits hosting tables include Austin Jones Realty/Investor, Future Leaders of America, Girl Scouts of Central Coast, The Inclusion School, MLK Jr. Santa Barbara, NAACP Santa Barbara, Planned Parenthood, Sansum Clinic now part of Sutter Health, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics with Voter Registration, Starfish Connection Talk O Truck, and UCSB Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Nu Nu Chapter and Xi Kappa Omega Chapter.
Providing refreshments will be food trucks Dave’s Dogs, Fernando’s Churros and Deli Inc., Mister Softee, Mony’s Tacos, and Soul Bites.
This year’s Juneteenth SB will launch the State of the Black Community Survey at the Block Party. The comprehensive survey, which closes Oct. 1, is helping to gather data about the Black community across Santa Barbara County.
UCSB Center for Evaluation is facilitating the survey, and the Santa Barbara Foundation and NAACP Santa Maria-Lompoc are sponsors.
Juneteenth party attendees are asked to choose to have a lower environmental impact by traveling to the event by bike, bus or train. MOVE Santa Barbara County will valet bikes for free at the Block Party.
Juneteenth Santa Barbara History
Federally recognized in June 2021, Black/African American communities across the country have marked Juneteenth with celebrations and organizing efforts focused on supporting and uplifting Black life.
Chiany Dri, Simone Ruskamp, and Jordan Killebrew brought a reiteration of Juneteenth (in its seventh year) back to Santa Barbara, as several Black/African American Elders have celebrated in the region in the past.
In 2018, Ruskamp, Dri and Killebrew gathered to celebrate Juneteenth at El Centro on the city’s lower West Side. This first event featured home-cooked Soul Food, Black-centered programming, and, most importantly, a safe space for the community to celebrate Black culture.
Juneteenth SB partnered with the Santa Barbara Public Library the following year, where the event grew to 400 people.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, the celebration was a virtual event with some 13,000 viewers. It featured videos of Black community members sharing their stories, showcasing their work, and their collective histories.
In 2021, Juneteenth SB partnered with Healing Justice Santa Barbara to put on a series of events in-person and virtual events and the historic opening of the MELANIN Black Artist Gallery at 833 State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
The 2022-24 events have been Block Party celebrations that were moved to Grey Avenue in the Funk Zone and what we call Historically Black Santa Barbara.
In 2022, the theme was Caring for The People, and just under 3,000 people attended. In 2023, the theme was Nourishing The People, and some 3,000 people attended. This year 4,000-5,000 attendees are expected.
Thanks is offered to the following sponsors:
Platinum Community Partner, the city of Santa Barbara, and the California Arts Council.
Gold Sponsors, the city of Goleta, the county of Santa Barbara, Cox Communication, Fielding University, Healing Justice SB, Santa Barbara Foundation, and Santa Barbara Independent & Indy Parenting.
Silver Community Partners, Golden1 Credit Union, Island View Outfitters, Sparks Creative Events, Sansom Clinic, now part of Sutter Health, Starfish Connection, along with the Bronze Community Partners: American Riviera Bank, The Fund for Santa Barbara, High Desert Screen Printing & Island View Outfitters, McCune Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, Oniracom, Pacific Pride Foundation, SBCC Foundation, SURJ Santa Barbara, and Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara.
This year a Grass Roots Community Partner tier was added, including the county of Santa Barbara Women’s Commission, Future Leaders of America, Moms Demand Action, County of Santa Barbara District 2 Supervisor Laura Capps, and The VOID SB Gym.
Appreciation also goes to donors: Hillary Allen, Jett Black-Maertz, Kristin Bollingmo, Lucille Boss, LA Clinton, Caylee Daniel, Jillian Ellis, Jesse Felix, Melissa Hansen, Lily Heidger, Nellie Hill, Emily Izmirian, Joan K. Jones, Kaylan Lamb, Chelsea Lancaster, Etta Murray, Michele Osborne, Sarah Payne, Diana Collins Puente, Allison Quijano, Arriana Rabago, Quetzal Sanchez, Tamesha Schumacher, Jessica Self, Erin Wilson, and Laura Wooster Dorfman.