STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Hundreds gathered to celebrate Black pride and liberation at the fourth annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival, hosted by the Staten Island Community Alliance (SICA) at the South Meadow lawn of Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden in Livingston on Saturday.
The all-day event was filled with entertainment featuring dancers, drummers, singers, spoken-word poets such as MayaDaPoet and Poet Laureate Kayden Hern, and a fashion show. Dana Walker Boyd, president of SICA, poses with her husband Willie Boyd Jr. at the fourth annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival at the South Meadow lawn of Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.
(Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi) Priya Shahi “Juneteenth means everything to me because we are able to celebrate the freedom and liberation of enslaved Americans,” Dana Walker Boyd, president of SICA, said. “It is also an African American celebration we can have in the United States. We are grateful to have this opportunity to showcase all of our culture, art, music and fashion.
” The event kicked off with the National Anthem and Juneteenth Flag presented by the Susan E. Wagner High School Marching Band and Curtis High School ROTC Color Guard. Following that, Paighton Stewart sang the Negro National Anthem.
Scenes from the fourth annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival hosted by SICA at the South Meadow lawn of Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Staten Island Advance/ Priya Shahi) .
