Today, we stand together in unity to honor and celebrate Juneteenth, a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. It marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom – a full two and half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. 

After decades working to de stigmatize and decriminalize street food vending, our team is appalled by these attacks and we stand alongside those neighbors working to earn a living on sidewalks, from food carts or trucks, and from their home-based catering work. See more in the statement below from our Interim Executive Director, Alexis Villanueva:

This letter was originally sent to our staff, but we’re modifying it as an ‘open letter’ to you, our friends, partners, and neighbors in City Heights.

It happens every year on Martin Luther King Jr. day, and it’s happening right now.

Well-meaning people share his more palatable, more agreeable statements while avoiding the simple fact that MLK held very radical views throughout his life, and those views are still applicable to today.

Here are a few of our favorites…

Friends, we are witnessing a global uprising, a groundswell of racial justice, but simply witnessing it isn’t enough. We must deepen our commitment to practicing anti-racism, and one great step is to make a commitment to educating ourselves.