Juneteenth parade in San Francisco celebrates freedom, love and unity in heart of downtown

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- There was a vibrant celebration of freedom in downtown San Francisco on Saturday.

Crowds lined the streets for the second annual Juneteenth parade.

The celebration stepped off at Market and Spear Streets and ended at Fulton Plaza -- where a festival was scheduled until 6 p.m.

Mayor London Breed led the parade.

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"I'm supporting all this love. Black love out here. Getting to be a part of bringing everybody together, the community together," said San Francisco resident Tiffany Mcclendon.

Organizers were calling it a proud moment in the heart of the city.

"Some people are like, it should be back in Fillmore or the Bay View. But to be Main Street for SF, that's a really big deal," said Sheryl Davis, executive director SF Human Rights Commission.

Davis says, in time, this parade will rival others in the city.

"Remember, those other parades have 50-plus years. And, so we're just starting to build that momentum. But I think symbolically and just in terms of like cultural support, it's a big deal to just be here," she said.

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"It means a lot to make it this big coming from just a small, small parade in the Fillmore to have it come down on Market Street for everybody, so everybody can be a part of it," Mcclendon said. "The whole city, come from anywhere and be a part of it."

Flags were waving, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans and Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday in 2021.

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"This holiday is very important for Black people. I think it's very important raising awareness of what we've done in the nation and that a lot of the history, of most of the history, is Black history," said Samuel Rhymes, a Howard University student.

"This is San Francisco. I remember this is in San Francisco. I know," said James Spingola, executive director of Collective Impact. "So this is big for me. This is big. This is one of the best events of the year."