CINCINNATI — Hundreds of people took to the streets of downtown Cincinnati to celebrate Juneteenth.

What You Need To Know

  • Cincinnati celebrated Juneteenth on Monday with a parade through downtown

  • A few hundred people took part in the celebration

  • Organizers and elected officials are excited and proud of the celebration

  • Juneteenth is a federally observed holiday
​​The first-ever Cincinnati Official Juneteenth Parade (C.O.J.P) started in Cincinnati’s West End and ended at City Hall.  

Cheer, dance, drill and drum lines provided the flare, entertainment and sounds for the parade. 

The parade served as the grand finale for a weekend of celebration in the Queen City. 

Organizer Melinda Brown was excited to lead the first-annual parade this year now that COVID-19 is better under control. 

“Since a lot of businesses are closed, it’s a great day for a parade,” Brown said. “It also means that they’re taking the holiday serious finally. It’s been celebrated in a lot of states for over 160 years so Cincinnati, we’re ready.”

Brown said she’s proud to see so many people take part in the celebration. 

Drumlines and dance groups performed at the celebratory parade. (Tino Bovenzi/Spectrum News 1)

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval attended as well as many other city leaders. Pureval said this is an important day for the City of Cincinnati. 

“For too long (Juneteenth) hasn’t been taught in our school and hasn’t been observed through the country, but it really is a celebration of Black liberation and a reminder of how much more work we have to do around racial equity,” Pureval said. “For the first time, for a first-year parade, hundreds and hundreds of people came out to celebrate. So proud of my city.” 

Brown expects the parade will become a bigger and better celebration each year moving forward. In 2021, Juneteenth became nationally recognized as a federal holiday.