Over 300 riders took to the streets of New Orleans to raise awareness of the Juneteenth holiday during the Juneteenth Blackout Bike Ride. The community event began in the 3100 block of St. Claude Avenue where riders clad in black took to bicycles of all shapes and sizes. About a dozen members of the New Orleans Police rode along on bicycles as and NOPD unit cleared the way for the procession.

The riders made pit-stops for refreshments and talks at several Black-owned businesses, including Studio Be on Royal Street, Carre Restaurant and Bar on Decatur Street, and Morrow’s Restaurant on St. Claude Avenue. The ride was one of several local and national events marking Juneteenth, named after the 19th day of June in 1865 when slaves in Galveston, Texas finally learned they had been freed.