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The Juneteenth celebration began with the longshoremen’s union, which the shut down the Port of Oakland for speeches by civil rights activist Angela Davis and actor Danny Glover. The demonstrations continued throughout the East Bay and beyond as more rallies were held in Oakland, San Jose and Santa Clara.

The crowds were diverse but the message was singular as the rallies continued three weeks of action against racism and police violence. In the South Bay, demonstrators gathered for a Hype the Youth Rally in Santa Clara County building. Meanwhile, a crowd of 500 people marched from Santa Clara University to San Jose State.

Aside from the port, demonstrators gathered in Oakland in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza to hear speakers who discussed Juneteenth becoming a national holiday and the safety of workers at Amazon warehouses. The talks even drew activist, rapper and director Boots Riley, who said he sees parallels between the Black Lives Matter protests and the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Around the Bay Area, the protests were joyful, but they also had the purpose with the call for an end to police violence and a greater emphasis on racial understanding. The photo gallery above shows signs of that.

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