Hundreds gather in West Philadelphia for annual Juneteenth Parade: "This is how we bring people together"

Hundreds of people descended on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia Sunday for the city's annual Juneteenth Parade.

Mayor Cherelle Parker helped lead the parade along with the grand marshal and Philadelphia's own DJ Jazzy Jeff. 

The parade featured dancing, a marching band and dozens of floats that honored a pivotal moment in our nation's history. 

"The dancing, the happiness, the people coming together loving each other," Valerie Sample said.

"I like it because it's representing our Black heritage, which we need in this day and time," Rachelle Watson said. 

Juneteenth, which is the newest federal holiday, marks the official end of slavery in the United States when Union troops arrived in Texas to announce that the last enslaved people were finally free. It happened in 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

"People who fail to know their story are destined to repeat it, so it's important that we teach the children the truth. It's important that our story is a part of the American story," Brother East said. 

"It was a real shame. I can't even imagine what that had been like for them to learn that for two years they were waiting for this opportunity and hoping for it and then [freedom] it finally happened," said Steve Van Mater, who traveled from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, to attend the parade. 

The Juneteenth celebration continued at Malcolm X Park for a festival that included food, music and dozens of vendors of all kinds. 

"This is how we bring people together," Van Mater said. "We have a very divisive world right now and I think anything you can do to bring people together and coalesce around culture and music and food is great."

The spirit of community was on full display — a showcase of unity that brought people from all walks of life together.