Juneteenth In Denver

In addition to Pride, the weekend of June 15-16 was devoted to Denver’s Juneteenth Festival, held every year in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood west of Park Hill. Juneteenth highlights the day in 1865, when black residents of Galveston, Texas, finally learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, marking the end of slavery. It also highlights and honors modern African American culture, with live music and dancing, food and a parade. 

mages shown, left to right: A family of Taekwondo enthusiasts looking on during the parade; a crowd in front of the historic Rossonian Hotel, which is being revived as a jazz club after decades of being closed; a young woman in a mid-air split along the parade route. Photos by Julius Fernan Garrido, who lives with his husband in the City Park North neighborhood.