Families to Gather for Black Culture Event Outside Rose Bowl Saturday

As the U.S. celebrates a reinvigorated Juneteenth, about 200 San Gabriel Valley residents are expected to gather on the Rose Bowl Stadium lawn Saturday, June 20, for a free, family-friendly, socially distant event, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

According to organizers, families will be given educational anti-racist kits and materials to create their own take-home lawn signs expressing their values and beliefs.

As Pasadena resident and organizer Katrina Frye told Pasadena Now Friday, “After the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, I really felt like this was something that needed to happen.”

Said Frye, “I was hearing from my white allies and neighbors that they truly wanted to join the conversation in a genuine way, but every conversation was ending in, “But COVID.”

Frye emphasizes that the event will be safe and will be an opportunity for people to “truly get to know the black experience in America and specifically in Pasadena.”

“Everything starts at the local level,” Frye continued. “It starts in the home, and it starts in your neighborhoods and on your streets.”

The celebration of Black culture will feature expressions of art from local artists and speakers including:

• AhsohntheDJ
• Poets from Get Lit Words Ignite
• Dr. Ray Briggs of Pasadena Conservatory of Music
• Felicia Williams, Pasadena Councilmember-elect – And more

Families for Black Lives is a community coalition of San Gabriel Valley residents dedicated to educating and contextualizing the stories, history, and impact of Black culture. Founded in 2020, the collective creates unique and experiential family gatherings highlighting the Black experience in America.

More information on the event is available at www.familiesforblacklives.com. Instagram/Facebook: @familiesforblacklives