A Juneteenth ceremony took place at San Pedro’s Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, with the event featuring speeches, musical performances and an art exhibit.
The “Let Freedom Ring” celebration honoring Juneteenth has been held annually since 2021 and this year included performances by recording artist Windy Barnes Farrell and an art exhibit with the works of Inglewood artist Gary Green.
The friendship bell, a 17-ton bronze monument on top of the hill overlooking the ocean and Catalina Island in Angel’s Gate Park, was a gift to the United States by South Korea in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial and to honor Korean War veterans.
Officials and guests feel the reverberations of a ringing bell during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Officials and guests ring the bell during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker speaks during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
City officials, guests and attendees take a group photo together during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
City officials, guests and attendees take a group photo together during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Singers Windy Farrell, left, and Sunny Daye sing together during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Dozens of attendees listen to speakers and singers during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Officials and guests ring the bell during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Filmmakers Terrence Williams, left, and Arnold Chun greet each other during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Singers Windy Farrell, left, and Sunny Daye sing together during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Filmmakers Terrence Williams, left, and Arnold Chun speak about their films during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
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Officials and guests feel the reverberations of a ringing bell during a Juneteenth celebration at the Korean Friendship Bell on Friday, June 19, 2026. (Photo by Raphael Richardson, Contributing Photographer)
Supporters viewed the site as a fitting location for a local Juneteenth observance — a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans — because of the mutual themes of shared human liberty and equality.
Juneteenth commemorates the date — June 19, 1865 — when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to the last enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Black Americans have celebrated Juneteenth for generations, but it became a federal holiday in 2021.
As for the Korean Friendship Bell, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley formally dedicated the monument in October 1976. And 50 years later, the Korean Friendship Bell remains one of San Pedro’s most distinctive modern-era landmarks.
During the dedication year, a group of about 30 craftsmen from South Korea arrived in San Pedro to assemble the pagoda-like structure that would house the bell, one of the biggest in the world and a gift to the U.S. in honor of the bicentennial.
The bell was hung in a frame on a windswept hilltop in Angels Gate Park in September 1976 and is listed among Los Angeles’ historic-cultural monuments.