In Oakland, the 9th annual Black Joy Parade brought thousands of people out to celebrate Black culture and community.
The parade kicked off down Broadway this afternoon with people lining up the sidewalks for a good spot to watch.
“Every time they have it I miss it, this time I’m in it,” Brenda McGaffie said.
McGaffie came to watch her sorority in the parade and experience the sense of Black culture, creativity and joy in Oakland.
“We’re doing something, and Oakland is moving and moving up,” McGaffie said.
Spectators waved or cheered for each group on the route. Some tell us it’s a can’t-miss annual event, for others it was their first time here.
“I’m here to celebrate our students who are performing in the parade today,” Lauren of Hayward said.
“I was like ‘I’m going to go and I’m going! I’m going to drop what I’m doing right after church to go’, so I came right after church and I’m really excited to be here today,” Veletta of San Francisco said.
The parade brought out thousands of people.
“It celebrates joy and that could mean liberation, that could mean just pride in who you are, that could mean so many things and we’re just here to create space for people to show up and be joyous,” Executive Producer of Black Joy Parade Paige Nicholson said.
There was joy at both the parade and festival. Organizers say it keeps growing.
“We have over 100 vendors this is year 9. I think we had about 80 or so vendors and we’ve grown every single year,” Maya Sykes said.