Juneteenth is being marked across the area today with celebrations, including a Freedom Walk in D.C. Singing “We Shall Overcome,” several hundred people walked up M Street Southeast across the 11th Street Bridge and into the heart of Anacostia.
In front of the procession, a large handmade green, red, black and gold sign read, “Black erasure, we say ‘no.'”
Ronald Respur, who lives in Virginia, was part of the walk.
“We’re trying to make it be the right way through the celebration and bringing people together, knowing about accomplishing what we need to do to move forward,” Respur said.
Traveling nurse, Jae Pittman, found herself in D.C. with a day off and says she’s walking to show unity.
“One love, one people, so it’s very important that we all understand that if we put this message out to everyone, that eventually more people will want to do the same,” Pittman said.
Organizers say the walk was in honor of freedom and resilience, as well as to remember the past and celebrate the present. Others say it’s important to remember Juneteenth, which is the commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.
