The African American Community Service Agency’s inaugural Mayor’s Freedom Ball on Sunday was a music-fueled night that featured groups dancing with Trey Russell in front of the stage. Even San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan got his own walk-on music: his recent collab with Grimes from his gubernatorial campaign.
The tune, “Matt Mahan is Going to Bat,” tickled the audience, drawing a smile by Mahan, too. “That’s amazing,” he said. “I am on Spotify.”
The event, which honored a diverse group of 50 community leaders at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda, included the raising of the Juneteenth flag in front of City Hall and served as a kickoff to the 45th annual Juneteenth in the Streets event taking place Saturday in downtown San Jose.
The Juneteenth flag, far left, was raised at San Jose City Hall during the Mayor’s Freedom Ball at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
African American Community Service Agency Executive Director Milan Balinton, front, and Associate Director Lavere Foster pose during the Mayor’s Freedom Ball at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026. The event kicked off Juneteenth celebrations in Santa Clara County. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan poses with Christine Keener, director of government affairs and community for Verizon, at the Mayor’s Freedom Ball at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Keener was one of the Power 50 honorees at the event, which kicked off Juneteenth celebrations in Santa Clara County. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara County Assessor Neysa Fligor speaks at the Mayor’s Freedom Ball at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026, which kicked off Juneteenth celebrations in Santa Clara County. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
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The Juneteenth flag, far left, was raised at San Jose City Hall during the Mayor’s Freedom Ball at the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda at San Jose City Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2026. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
AACSA Executive Director Milan Balinton announced at the ball that in addition to New York vocal trio SWV and R&B singer/songwriter Montel Williams, Saturday’s celebration would feature another special guest: John Carlos, the Olympic bronze medalist from San Jose State who joined Tommie Smith in a raised-fist protest at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
The event runs from noon to 7 p.m. in the South First Area (SoFA) in downtown San Jose, a stretch of South First Street from San Carlos to Reed streets. You can get more information at www.bayareajuneteenth.org.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in 2020 to make Juneteenth a county holiday, before it became a national and state holiday. County Assessor Neysa Fligor said it’s important for the valley to continue to commemorate the holiday, which recognizes June 19, 1865 as the day when enslaved people in Texas were informed of their freedom, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
“We want to continue celebrating Juneteenth so they know the truth about what happened,” she said. “If we don’t talk about it and celebrate it, we risk this milestone in history being forgotten or erased. We need to celebrate it in the streets like San Jose has done for years.”
1994 FLASHBACK: The FIFA World Cup being back in the Bay Area is bringing back memories for many longtime residents of 1994, when Brazil’s men’s team was based in Los Gatos and turned the town into one big samba party for two months. Los Gatos held a Brazilian Festival that June that drew 5,000 people, and the July 4 game between Brazil and the United States attracted about 40,000 raucous fans — of both sides — to the tiny town.
Willow Street Pizza owner Ed Rathmann said it was an extraordinary few weeks for business owners in Los Gatos. “As a matter of fact, all of our servers were proposed to by Brazilians,” he said, not specifying if that included the men.
Rathmann said Willow Street will commemorate the tournament’s return to the Bay Area by showing all the games and offering a special stamp card — dine in six times during the World Cup and get two free pizzas on the seventh visit. You’re on your own for engagement rings.
FESTIVE FRIDAY: The weather forecast predicts Friday’s temperatures to hit 90 degrees in San Jose. But it may seem a little hotter in downtown’s arty SoFA district where the third-annual WEPA Fest will fill the air with Puerto Rican and Caribbean music, food and culture.
The free family-friendly festival will be at Parque de los Pobladores from 5 to 10 p.m., with live music performances including headliner Orquesta Bembé.