IN THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM...

Jazmine Sullivan will headline the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival, 6/19 at Los Angeles' Leimert Park Village. Presented by Still Rising and Elevate Culture in collaboration with Amazon Music, the fifth annual event will be livestreamed on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.

A special hip-hop 50 segment, hosted by Amazon Music hip-hop/R&B brand Rotation, will feature interactive photos and a photo gallery titled “From the Westside With Love: Straight Out of L.A.” Showcasing artwork and photography by locals, the gallery is intended as a “love letter” to hip-hop legends.

A screening of Generational Queens—the first in a series of short films from Amazon Music—meanwhile, will tell the story of Queen Latifah’s feminist anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.,” which turns 30 this year.

“Leimert Park is the only place to be in Los Angeles on Juneteenth,” said Tim Hinshaw, Amazon Music head of hip-hop and R&B. “We're honored to be back here celebrating Black culture with music, art, fashion and food. We strive to create first-class experiences for the community, and we believe this year will be one you don’t want to miss.”

Juneteenth was established on 6/19/1865, the day Texas Major General Gordon Granger enforced Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which in 1863 freed the people enslaved in the Confederate states. More than 70 years ago, Jonathan Leonard began the tradition of Juneteenth in Leimert Park Village. In 2020, Still Rising Corp. was formed to put on the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival.

Leonard’s family said in a statement, “In 1949, Jonathan Leonard began celebrating Juneteenth in Leimert Park by sharing BBQ, watermelon and red soda water with the community, and his family is happy to continue the tradition this year.”

As always, the event is free. Festivities begin at 4pm local time. For more information, click here.