A standing room only audience celebrated Juneteenth festivities in Altadena on June 19, 2025, at the Altadena Historical Society’s Fourth Annual Luncheon and Scholarship Awards ceremony at Loma Alta Park with keynote remarks made by Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28).
Four Ellen Garrison Clark Scholarships were awarded to John Muir High School seniors Jameel Franco, Deja’Nae Smith, Christian Holland-Delany and Taylor Williams.
In her remarks, Chu stated, “It is so wonderful to be here, especially since I was able to cast my vote to make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday [in 2021].” She went on to say that “today is about preserving our history as well as commemorating it.”
The celebration included the presentation of colors by Boy Scout Troop 40 led by Julius Campbell, and an audience-participation rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” led by Aretha Scruggs. The song is a poem written by James Weldon and set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. Often referred to as the Black National Anthem, it was first performed in 1900 and has become a powerful symbol of the African American experience, resilience and hope for equality. The program also featured a poetry reading by Dr. Kathleen M. Lesko and an Observational Photography exhibit by Alfred Haymond.
Juneteenth marks the official end to slavery in the United States when federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX, the final location of resistance of the defeated Confederacy. On June 19, 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, issued more than two years prior, was finally disseminated to the quarter-million enslaved people in the state.
Ellen Garrison Clark was an African-American anti-slavery activist, teacher, and civil rights proponent. She spent her final years in the Altadena and Pasadena area and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in 1892. The first Juneteenth celebration sponsored by the Altadena Historical Society included adding a tombstone to her grave on June 19, 2021, two days after Congress passed the legislation making Juneteenth an official federal holiday. The Historical Society’s handout reminded attendees of Ms. Clark’s injunction, “We must lift as we climb.”
Various Altadena Historical Society presentations and a short speech by Caltech sophomore, Noah Howell, were included. AHS President Veronica Jones offered closing remarks, reminiscing about playing in Loma Alta Park as a child, then bringing her children and finally grandchildren to play there. Off-stage, she provided her summary: “Diversity is good; we are all in this together.”
Dr. Helena Johnson, Southern California Area President at National Council of Negro Women, who was attending her first Altadena Juneteenth meeting said, “We are celebrating not only Juneteenth but the survival of Altadena.”
First-time attendee Mary Landau, an Altadena resident for 49 years, lost her home in the Eaton Fire in January. She said, “I have always wanted to attend a Juneteenth celebration; to me, it is an important day in American history.” As for the future, Landau lamented, “I keep having trouble thinking about it.”
Another first-time attendee, voice artist Sheldon Wright, grew up in Altadena, where his parents lived from 1963 to 2017. He and his sister attended Loma Alta Elementary School, Eliot Junior High School (now Eliot Arts Magnet Academy), and John Muir High School. Loma Alta and Eliot suffered considerable damage in the Eaton Fire and are currently inoperable. Wright also lived in Altadena in his own home for ten years. He visited the structures where he had once lived; all had been destroyed in the firestorm.
“Altadena writ large will take on some form that borrows from what was, but there is going to be a whole lot of new.” He said he has also been captivated (“it was so surreal”) by a phenomenon he saw developing. “People began taking photos of their (now destroyed) homes out of their phones just like you would share pictures of your children or grandchildren.”
The event was sponsored by the LA County Board of Supervisors, the Altadena Library District, LA County Parks & Recreation, Pasadena Federal Credit Union, the Altadena Rotary Club and the Altadena community. The Ellen Garrison Clark Scholarship sponsors included Mountain View Mortuary & Cemetery, Good Neighbor Bar, American Association of Blacks in Energy, and the Altadena Historical Society.
This was the fourth luncheon and the fifth consecutive observation of Juneteenth by the Altadena History Society.
