In 2021, June 19—a day known as Juneteenth—became a federal holiday. It commemorates the proclamation freeing slaves in the United States following the Civil War, but until recently, many Americans had never heard of it.
This year, the Palm Springs Cultural Center is celebrating Juneteenth a little early: The Third Annual Juneteenth Celebration will take place from 2 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, June 11. The festivities will include food, fashion, local vendors, artists, music, a youth learning-activities station and much more. Richard Pryor Jr., the son of comedian Richard Pryor, is slated to be at the event, signing copies of his book, In a Pryor Life.
This Juneteenth celebration came to Palm Springs through the efforts of fashion designer Aneka Brown, owner of Aneka Brown Designs.
“People such as myself have been very vocal about the significance of Juneteenth and what it means for all Americans,” she said. “I produced the event because often, the mainstream media presents African Americans in a negative light. We are always the bad guys, so in order to combat it, I focus on the positive imagery that can be found in my people.”
Aneka said her fashion sense has its roots in her childhood.
“I used to cut my clothes to make outfits for my dolls,” she said. “I applied to the Fashion Institute of Designing and Merchandising out of high school, and was accepted, but couldn’t afford it.”
Aneka was undeterred—even after she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma when she was 30; she’s had coughing fits so severe they caused her to lose consciousness. To make matters worse, the prednisone she took to control her condition when it flared up caused her weight to fluctuate—but she turned this curse into a blessing.
“One month, I was a size 6, and then I’d blow up to a size 16,” she said. “The lack of chic, vibrant, exciting fashion led me to design garments to fill that void.”
She designed her own clothes and then found a factory to make them. Her first piece was a loose-fitting jumpsuit designed to cover weight fluctuation. When her friends saw it and praised it, her fashion brand was born.
Her fashion designs for all sizes often include bold prints and colors, blending rich-toned traditional and modern African print fabrics with Californian, calm earth tones.
“I didn’t have any formal training and only $250,” she said—but now her clothes are available online and at a pop-up store inside Hotel Paseo in Palm Desert
Her fashion designs for all sizes often include bold prints and colors, blending rich-toned traditional and modern African print fabrics with Californian, calm earth tones. Palm Springs, where she was raised, serves as an inspiration with “its melting pot of different colors like beautiful mosaics. Whatever colors you need, you can find throughout the Coachella Valley,” she said.
At the Juneteenth event, one of Palm Springs’ most beloved singers, Keisha D, will close out the day with a special “Soulful Sundays” event, with songs and storytelling. She started singing in her church choir and then sang with Hilltop Faith, a gospel group that has toured the United States. She is an outspoken champion of the underdog and an advocate for music and arts education. She has worked with various recording artists and, in 2020, was honored with a star on the Walk of Stars in downtown Palm Springs.
Brown said she’s looking forward to the celebration.
“I educate people on the wonderful contributions that African Americans have made to society that many Americans don’t know about,” Brown said. “My grandmother always said, ‘When we know better, we do better.’”
The Third Annual Juneteenth Celebration will take place from 2 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, June 11, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Admission is free. For more information, visit psculturalcenter.org, or view the event’s Facebook page.