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Thank You for Celebrating Juneteenth on the Waterfront

June 21, 2021

Thank you to MegaBlack SF, Port of San Francisco, and everyone who joined us for Juneteenth on the Waterfront on June 19, 2021! Juneteenth was celebrated for the first time at the Embarcadero Ferry Terminal Plaza and Ferry Plaza Farmers Market with a day of community and delicious, handcrafted foods highlighting local Black-owned businesses.

CUESA was honored to cosponsor Juneteenth on the Waterfront in this historic year when Juneteenth has been officially recognized as a national holiday. Also known as Freedom Day, Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of Black Emancipation in the United States, honored on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when freedom from slavery was proclaimed in the state of Texas.

Mayor London Breed joined the celebration and visited with food vendors and community organizers. “I hope people don’t just take this as a day to sit back and relax, but to study the history of what this day means to African Americans and rededicate themselves to equality and justice,” said Mayor Breed.

“There is a lot of African American businesses and vendors and workers, who make the city great. And we want to really honor that, and a holiday that is about Black liberation,” said Shakirah Simley of MegaBlack SF (shown above, right, with Director Sheryl Davis of the Human Rights Commission and Mayor Breed). MegaBlack SF organized Juneteenth on the Waterfront, and has established a Reparations Advisory Committee, Black Wellness Fund, and other initiatives. Simley is also the Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity and member of CUESA’s Board of Directors.

We want to share lots of love and gratitude for our participating food vendors Crumble & Whisk, Delightful Foods, A Girl Named Pinky, Gumbo Social, Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement, Peaches Patties, The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events, Teranga, Wanda’s Cooking, and Yes Pudding, and community partners En2action/Ujamaa Kitchen, SF Francisco Human Rights Commission: Stand Together SF – Campaign for Solidarity, UPLFTRS, DJ Miles Otway of BFF.fm, and Val Serrant of From Drum to SteelDrum/From Afrika to the Karibbean and Beyond. Please be sure to follow them and stay in touch!

Thank you also to the Ferry Building Marketplace (Hudson Pacific Properties) and Ferry Plaza Farmers Market vendors and Ferry Building Marketplace merchants who donated to the MegaBlack SF Black Wellness Fund, including Acme Bread Company, Almanac Beer Co., Capay Mills, Daily DriverDelightful Foods, Devil’s Gulch Ranch, Hog Island Oyster Co., Kashiwase Farms, McGinnis Ranch, Nana Joes Granola, Namu, Norte54, Root Down Farm, Sciabica’s California Olive Oil, Winters Fruit Tree, Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen.

MegaBlack SF fights for visibility, sovereignty, dignity and justice for Black San Franciscans. Help support the MegaBlack SF Black Wellness Fund, which invests in organizations that address issues of mental health and wellness; economic development, including employment and housing; and education for African American residents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Donate and support their work here.

Here are some scenes from the day. Click here to view the full Facebook album.

Director Sheryl Davis and Shakirah Simley of MegaBlack SF.

Mayor London Breed visits with The Port of San Francisco.

Guests celebrate Juneteenth on in the new Embarcadero Ferry Terminal Plaza.

Chef Wanda Blake of Wanda’s Cooking serves cornbread, chow chow, and more.

Chef Shani Jones of Peaches Patties dished Jamaican patties.

Chef Christina Wilson of The Pleasure Principle Supperclub & Dining Events offered Jerk Chicken Salad with Crispy Tostones and Cold Curry Noodles Guyanese.