Juneteenth rallies mark 155 years of emancipation at height of Black Lives Matter movement

Several Juneteenth events in the works Friday around the region include a morning rally and march by labor unions at the Port of Oakland.

Juneteenth celebrations mark June 19, 1865, the date enslaved people in Texas were told the Civil War had ended and they were free under terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

Bay Area events on Friday coincide with events planned around the world in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Oakland port demonstration is one of 29 planned at seaports in California, Oregon and Washington on Friday, port officials said.

At 10 a.m., longshore workers at the Port of Oakland will hold a work stoppage, followed by a rally and march starting from 1717 Middle Harbor Road in Oakland.

At the end of the march, at Oakland City Hall, labor leaders will speak, and Angela Davis, Danny Glover and Boots Riley have also been invited to the event, organizers said.

A rally and march will be held in San Francisco at 1 p.m., with organizers calling for defunding San Francisco police and removing police from public schools. The march starts at city hall, 1 Carlton B. Goodlett Place and ends at board of education offices at 555 Franklin St. in San Francisco.

Other events around the bay include:

• An 11 a.m. Juneteenth Vigil in Daly City by Latina leaders to urge authorities to keep black lives safe. The event will be held at 333 90th St. in Daly City.
• At 12:15 p.m., doctors and nurses at San Mateo Medical Center will hold solidarity events with the black community at several locations, including the San Mateo Medical Center at 222 W. 39th St. in San Mateo and the Coastside Clinic, 225 S. Cabrillo Highway in Half Moon Bay.