Overview: The Juneteenth Jam: It’s a Family Affair, a celebration of freedom, culture, and community, was held at Ferguson Park in Rialto. The event, hosted by Stronger Together Now, Black the Block, and Fentwood Hoops, honored the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to inform the last enslaved Black Americans that they were finally free. The celebration included music, local vendors, and youth activities, and serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for racial justice.
Aryana Noroozi
On a warm Wednesday evening at Ferguson Park, families, friends, and neighbors gathered to celebrate freedom, culture, and community at the Juneteenth Jam: It’s a Family Affair. Hosted by Stronger Together Now, Black the Block, and Fentwood Hoops, the event transformed the park into a vibrant hub of Black joy and remembrance. With music in the air, local vendors lining the walkways and parking lot, and youth shooting hoops or tossing footballs on the grass, the celebration reflected the essence of Juneteenth—a day honoring liberation and resilience, rooted in history and carried forward by the community.
Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, the day when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation—to inform the last enslaved Black Americans that they were finally free. It is considered the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. While Juneteenth was only officially recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, Black communities have long honored it as a time to reflect on freedom, resistance, and the ongoing fight for racial justice.
In Rialto, that history lived on through food, music, sports, dancing and socializing. Check out the celebration through the lens of Black Voice News.
A celebration goer dances during one of the multiple dance contests at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)
A youth celebration attendee wins a dance contest and receives a prize at the Rialto Juneteenth Jamat Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Classic cars are displayed at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Customers browse waste chains from vendor“Mentally Wasted”at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Jayda (left), owner and founder of“Mentally Waisted”poses for a portrait with a customer at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Celebration goers dance during one of the multiple dance contests at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Players take part in a basketball tournament at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)
Kaitlyn McGuire is awarded as the inaugural Miss. Juneteenth at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)
A vendor displays artwork at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)Celebration goers dance during one of the multiple dance contests at the Rialto Juneteenth Jam at Alec Fergusson Park held on June 19, 2025. (Aryana Noroozi for Black Voice News / CatchLight Local)
