TITLE
Recommendation to reallocate $5,000 of funding within the Special Advertising and Promotions Fund Group in the City Manager Department from the current allocation for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade to instead be utilized to provide a donation to Partners of Parks for the 2022 Juneteenth Celebration at Rainbow Lagoon Park.
DISCUSSION
The Long Beach Juneteenth Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at Rainbow Lagoon Park in downtown Long Beach. The program includes local and international talent telling story of Black Americans through song and dance. Attendees will also enjoy a curated vendor village, dance lessons, food trucks, and children’s activities.
Juneteenth marks our country’s third Independence Day, as it has been long celebrated by the African-American community. On “Freedom’s Eve”, or the eve of January 1, 1863, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. But even after the stroke of midnight and the prayers were answered as all enslaved people in Confederate States were declared legally free, not everyone in Confederate territory would immediately be free. It was not until June 19th, 1865, when Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with word that the Civil War had ended, that those were now free.
The celebration of Juneteenth (a combination of June and Nineteenth) and what began as a celebration for former slaves and their descendants in Texas, has become a national day of pride in the African - American communities throughout the country. Juneteenth today, celebrates African - American freedom and achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures.
This item was reviewed by Grace H. Yoon on May 19, 2022.
STATEMENT OF URGENCY
This urgent item is being submitted through supplemental agenda to allow for timely funds processing.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendation requests that $5,000 of funding currently allocated for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in the Special Advertising and Promotions Fund Group in the City Manager’s Office be reallocated to provide a donation to support Long Beach Partners of Parks for the Juneteenth event on June 18, 2022. Due to the pandemic, the Parade was cancelled for FY 22 and this recommendation utilizes some of this unspent appropriation. Although the reallocation of departmental funds is not a normal source for City Council requested donations to external organizations, it is recommended here due to the unique extenuating situation caused by the pandemic. The recommendation is anticipated to require a minimal level of staff hours beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is expected to have a minimal impact on existing City Council priorities.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
SUELY SARO, COUNCILWOMAN
SIXTH DISTRICT