Largest Juneteenth parade in the country held in West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia hosted the largest Juneteenth parade in the entire country on Sunday, both celebrating the holiday and offering resources to the community.

The parade went down 52nd Street starting at Parkside and ending at Larchwood and Malcolm X Park, where there was also an all day festival with more than 200 vendors.

"It's amazing. This is the only park I know that's safe for Father's Day. You can come out and there's no violence none of that," said James Draper from West Philadelphia.

"I see more of a unification of mankind working together with this. Not just African Americans but Europeans as well," said Samir Bilal Muhammad from Mount Airy.

Those who came to the festival got a free meal courtesy of Everybody Eats Philly, an organization dedicated to improving food security in the community.

The festival also featured art, music, small businesses, a children's village, and a health and wellness fair where attendees could get free check ups. Organizers say that aspect of the festival is particularly important to their mission.

"June 19 is just symbolic of the road that we still have to travel in order to reach freedom and part of that is having the resources we need to do it," said Felicia Williams, the festival producer.

Juneteenth is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. Organizers of this parade fought to get the day recognized as a holiday. Now that they've accomplished that, they want to see the day continue to grow.

"We want Philadelphia to remain the epicenter of all Juneteenth celebrations. Just like people come here for 4th of July we want people to come to Philadelphia to celebrate Juneteenth," said Williams.

6abc is the broadcast partner for the Juneteenth Parade in Philadelphia. Action News anchors Tamala Edwards and Rick Williams, along with radio personality Gary Shepherd hosted the festivities.

Race and Culture Reporter TaRhonda Thomas, Reporter Sharifa Jackson, and other Action News employees rode on the Honor the Ancestors float sponsored by 6abc.