BREAKING: Juneteenth Festivals Across The Country Are Getting PUMMELED Financially, Citing An “Anti-DEI Climate” That Has Led To Setbacks In Acquiring Financial Support – ABC News
Organizers of Juneteenth celebrations across the country told ABC News that President Donald Trump’s push against DEI policies has led to some disturbances in planned festivities — some of which took place last weekend and others that are scheduled to be held on Thursday and over the coming weekend.
Maliya Jones, whose family has been organizing a Juneteenth festival in San Diego for years, told ABC News that the National Endowment for the Arts, which has faced funding cuts under the Trump administration, initially granted her family’s foundation, The Cooper Family Foundation. The foundation, which puts on the festival, was to receive a $25,000 grant for the 2025 fiscal year, as they have secured for past celebrations.
However, following the Trump administration’s new anti-DEI regulations in February, they were notified in an email that they will no longer be receiving the grant, Smith said.
“Funding is being allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the administration’s agenda. Your project, as noted, although, unfortunately, does not align with these properties,” the email said, according to Jones.
Norman Harris, executive director of Juneteenth Music Festival Corporation in Denver, Colorado, has been organizing Juneteenth festivals for over a decade but said that this year has been the “most challenging” because 12 major corporate sponsors, who had backed the festival in the past, pulled their support over the past couple of months.