Juneteenth Declared a Holiday for All East Bay Parks, Thanks to a Member’s Thought-Provoking Petition

If you’re looking for an example of how the labor movement and community organizations fighting for racial justice can work together, look no further than our brothers and sisters of AFSCME Local 2428.

Through a yearlong effort that started with one member’s online petition, Local 2428 and other community activists got the the East Bay Regional Park District, for the first time, to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.

The park district’s board of directors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday officially making Juneteenth a districtwide holiday and waiving all entrance fees for parkgoers on that day.

“The East Bay Regional Park District celebrates together with our community Juneteenth as a day to… recommit to the continuing fight against racial inequality and injustice,” the resolution stated.

Juneteenth is an annual recognition of the 250,000 slaves in Texas who were notified of their freedom on June 19,1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect.

To commemorate the holiday, the park district is also partnering with Oakland-based nonprofit Outdoor Afro and local business leaders to address systemic racism by encouraging people to spend time in nature and reflect on what freedom means in America.

It’s a day that Local 2428 member Deonta Allen, a building and grounds aide, has been dreaming about for a long time.

“This has been a tradition in my family forever,” Allen said.

As a kid growing up in Richmond, his family celebrated Juneteenth every year. When he started working for the park district, he made it a habit of requesting time off on the holiday to keep the tradition alive for his own family.

Then the George Floyd shooting happened last year.

Floyd’s death sparked a racial awakening throughout the world, and it forced many businesses and our own government to hold themselves more accountable to their claims of racial equity and social change.

For Allen, who is also an accomplished artist, he first used his paintbrush to raise awareness about the movement for Black lives last June when he led the charge to paint "Black Lives Matter" in front of Richmond City Hall.

But he knew something bigger was needed because his employer, the park district, holds so much influence in the area. The East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park system in the country, comprising 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline, and over 1,300 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and environmental education.

“In life, there are only so many times you get to acknowledge past wrongdoings and end up on the right side of history,” Allen said. “I felt like this was one of those moments for the park district.” 

Allen launched a change.org petition urging the park district to make Juneteenth an official holiday. By working with the local’s workforce diversity committee and the district’s Black employee resource group, he was able to create enough noise to get the park district’s leadership and others to take notice.

In his comments at the park district’s board meeting, Allen said he was thankful that the holiday was finally recognized, and he acknowledged that the effort wouldn’t have been made possible without solidarity.

“I want to thank the East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors for listening to members of the community and East Bay Regional Park District employees, and also taking action,” Allen said at the meeting. “Together, we are all bringing awareness to the significance of Juneteenth and its role in American history.”

The Juneteenth resolution even received praise from the park district’s police association, which was welcome news to many of our members and community activists.

“By acknowledging and supporting Juneteenth as a district holiday, we will be laying the groundwork essential to our community’s well being and the future that lies ahead of us,” Sgt. Giorgio Chevez, president of the police association, said at the meeting.

Local 2428 President Chris Newey said he was pleased that our members’ efforts were fruitful and that the district took such a bold step forward. But he said the local’s ultimate goal is to have Juneteenth be observed as a paid holiday for all park employees (like Fourth of July and 13 other holidays). The local also wants to partner with the park district to create more educational programming for the public surrounding the day.

At the board meeting, the park district’s general manager said an agreement has been reached with our brothers and sisters, and the details will be released soon.