The event opened with a performance by the Nine Movement Collective as music filled the grounds and crowds gathered along Jones Street.
"It feels like a family reunion," attendee Prenessa Lowery said, referencing classics from Frankie Beverly and Maze and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Lowery wore a shirt emblazoned with "1865 Juneteenth," a nod to the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and inform enslaved people they were free. This happened more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the order.
"Do you think our ancestors know we're here right now? Are they watching? Are you listening?" asked speaker Marcus Bass with NC Black Alliance.
Stein issued a Juneteenth proclamation recognizing the delayed freedom for enslaved Texans.
"In those two and a half years, babies were born into slavery who should have been born free," he said. "People died in slavery who should have died free."
Food trucks lined the street as families, community leaders and local organizations gathered.
"Everybody is having a good time enjoying the food and festivities," said Mikasa Melvin. "It feels like a family reunion."
For some parents, the celebration also served as a history lesson. Lwiza Escobar Garcia brought her daughters, 8-year-old Amelia and 4-year-old Fatima, after discussing the meaning of the holiday at home.
"It was really powerful for me to not only talk about it at home and have these conversations, but to bring it to life by celebrating in community," she said.
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