Hundreds of people visited the Soul of the Southside Festival in Minneapolis to celebrate freedom on Juneteenth.

“I acknowledge the only reason my parents were able to immigrate here is because of the liberatory and revolutionary acts of African Americans,” Kene Orakwue, attendee, said.

Juneteenth is a day to honor freedom and resilience. It marks the official end of slavery in the United States.

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“I just wanted to celebrate the community, be out here with my people,” Athena Webster, attendee, said.

It’s the people who breathe life into the Soul of the Southside festival.

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“This is a day for us to come out, not only remember, but to fellowship with each other and have a good time,” James Gavis, attendee, said.

The heat was no match for the hundreds that gathered on East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue, diving deep into Black culture through a fusion of history, art, music and food.

The Minnesota Hip Hop collective is one of the groups performing at the event, rooted in Black cultural dances.

“When it comes to being in community and sharing spaces and knowing that this is a safe space, a place to meet people and expand your connection, I feel like Soul of the South side is the place to do it,” Lydia Jones, a Minnesota Hip Hop collective dancer, said.

“I just love the community that comes out of this festival. It’s just so warm,” Simone Hall, a Minnesota Hip Hop collective dancer, said. “Everybody in our group is Black, so we stand for all that is Black, and all that is Blackness.”

Attendees describe the festival as a safe space to celebrate unity and pride during uncertain times.

“The utmost importance, especially with everything that’s happening with the administration right now. I feel like people need to band together. There needs to be unity, and people just need to celebrate each other,” Webster said.

The Minnesota Hip Hop collective was also fundraising at the festival for a trip to New York to learn hip hop from dance leaders trained in the mecca of hip hop. 

The first Soul of the Southside Festival kicked off in 2022. It was originally a single event born from The Legacy Building’s mission to support Black creatives and to use creativity as a vehicle for liberation, according to the event website.