BUFFALO, N.Y. — For 49 years, the City of Buffalo has celebrated its Juneteenth parade.

“We’ve always started with a parade. It was on Jefferson. And so as of today, it’s grown and grown and grown to like at least 4,000 people,” said Carrone Evon Crump, president of Buffalo Juneteenth. 

The celebration of Juneteenth was born with the freedom of slaves after the emancipation proclamation. In 1865, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of their freedom.

“We are here today to honor those ancestors and all of those who died during the middle passage, who died during slavery,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

“It’s important to show that it empowers the Black community to show that, we are engaged in the process of citizens of the United States, just like everybody else,” said Crump. 

And while Juneteenth only just became recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, Buffalo has recognized and honored Juneteenth for almost half a century.

“It’s a living history because we if you come you live and you’re being a part of this,” said Frank Merriweather III, grand marshal of the Buffalo Juneteenth Parade. “People have to know their history and what you can kind of get where you’re going and where you came from.”

The parade kicking off the celebration by bringing together community organizations and highlighting Black culture through dancing, music, food and spirit.

“It’s a cultural heritage reflection on who we are and the people who we are aligned with in the community, with organizations,” Crump said. “They’re able to really show who they are and and what they’re about and how they help our community.”

Not just a parade, but a way to share tradition, history, and most importantly, culture, with one another.

“The idea in this thing called life is wherever we are we leave better than we did when we came,” said Merriweather.