Juneteenth Event Links Delayed Emancipation to Delayed Justice for Freeway-Displaced Families

On Friday evening, as Pasadena looks forward to Juneteenth, some community leaders will draw powerful parallels to another kind of delayed justice — what they describe as the decades-long struggle for recognition and repair by families of color displaced when the 710 freeway was built through their neighborhoods in the 1970s.

The NAACP Pasadena Branch and Victory Bible Church will host a showing of “AMPLIFY: A Juneteenth Screening & Community Conversation” that addresses the ongoing fallout from freeway construction in previous decades that displaced thousands of predominantly local Black and Latino residents.

“When I think of Juneteenth, that celebration has routinely been done based on the fact that news about the Emancipation Proclamation reached actually in a very delayed fashion. In other words, people had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation but did not know it,” said Gilbert Walton, Chairman of 710 Restorative Justice Pasadena.

The event takes place Friday, June 13 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Victory Bible Church, located at 1497 North Hill Avenue in Pasadena. Admission is complimentary with food and beverages provided.

The evening features a screening of “Amplify,” a 38-minute oral history documentary capturing voices of freeway-construction-displaced residents and exploring themes of systemic racism, generational loss, and housing justice.

Brandon Lamar, President of the NAACP Pasadena Branch, said he believes the screening event offers a community healing aspect.

“With so much tension in the air — both locally and nationally — this Juneteenth event is more than a screening. It’s an opportunity for Pasadena and Altadena residents to be in community, to gather in solidarity, and to heal together.”

The SR-710 Northern Stub construction in the early 1970s displaced an estimated 4,000 residents and destroyed approximately 1,500 homes, with the majority owned or rented by low-income residents and people of color., according to UCLA research.

The research shows the area went from 52% minority in 1950 to 23% minority by 1980.

Friday’s event program includes opening remarks from Tina Williams, Chair of the 710 Restorative Justice Standing Committee, addressing housing justice and faith-based institutions’ role.

Following the film screening, a panel discussion with directly impacted community members will provide opportunities for audience questions.

Walton said he plans to close the event with a call to action encouraging civic engagement.

“So what we want to do is use that notion of emancipation again, having agency, having freedom to participate, whereas we were not allowed to do that at one point in time,” Walton explained.

The timing is critical as community voices are urgently needed while the city makes decisions about the 50-acre former freeway corridor. After decades of legal battles, the California Transportation Commission relinquished the property to Pasadena in August 2022.

Community members can engage through the 710 Restorative Justice Standing Committee (first Wednesdays) and the 710 Reconnecting Communities Advisory Group (third Wednesdays). Public comments may be submitted to 710Reconnecting@cityofpasadena.net.

For those unable to attend in person, the “Amplify” documentary is available online at bit.ly/AmplifyFilm.